Eternity Awaits: Piston Legend Joe Dumars Enshrined Into the Basketball Hall of Fame

Bloomfield Hills, MI (September 11, 2006)– SMN client Joe Dumars was honored for his contributions to basketball, as he was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame on September 9, 2006, in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Dumars was introduced by former backcourt mate and longtime friend, Isiah Thomas, who amplified Dumars' contributions to the game. "He was a Hall of Fame player and a Hall of Fame person," said Thomas. "His contributions to our game of basketball far exceed what he has done on the court."

Currently the Pistons' team president, Dumars was recognized for a basketball career that included 14 years as a shooting guard in Detroit, two NBA Championships, an NBA Finals MVP award and a reputation of nagging defense and stellar sportsmanship. Dumars was the good guy on the Bad Boys, the Detroit Pistons teams in 1989 and 1990 that won championships, and also included more high-profile stars. His demeanor as a person prompted the NBA to create the Joe Dumars Trophy after he won the league's sportsmanship award following the 1995-96 season. Although he was inducted as a player, Dumars, as an executive, crafted the Pistons into NBA Champions again in 2004.

Joining Dumars in the Class of 2006 were fellow NBA icons Charles Barkley and Dominique Wilkins, Connecticut women's coach Geno Auriemma, Italian coach Sandro Gamba, and former Big East Commissioner Dave Gavitt.

"I was blessed to be in Detroit for all those years - little did I know it when I got off the plane. I was blessed before I even knew I was blessed. And now I'm standing here in the Hall of Fame, it's as humbling an experience for me as I'm ever going to have."