Former Bucks player Ray Allen, former coach Jason Kidd named finalists for hall of fame

Matt Velazquez
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Former Buck Ray Allen (left), who played 18 NBA seasons, and former Bucks coach Jason Kidd, who played 21 seasons, were named finalists for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

LOS ANGELES - The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced its finalists for the 2018 class on Saturday at Staples Center and two men with ties to the Milwaukee Bucks were among the 13 finalists.

Ray Allen, who spent his first 6 1/2 seasons in Milwaukee, and Jason Kidd, who coached the Bucks for 3 1/2 seasons before being fired Jan. 22, were tabbed as finalists for their careers as players.

Former University of Wisconsin men's basketball coach Bo Ryan, a finalist last year, was not among this year's finalists.

Allen, the No. 5 overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, played 494 games with the Bucks, his highest total with any of his four teams. Allen averaged 19.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists with Milwaukee while shooting 40.6% from three-point range. That stretch also included the first three of Allen's 10 all-star selections.

During his 18-year NBA career, Allen won championships with the Boston Celtics (2008) and Miami Heat (2013) while making an NBA-record 2,973 three-pointers. He also won an Olympic gold medal in 2000 with Team USA.

Like Allen, Kidd was also a 10-time all-star and won the gold medal with Team USA in 2000 and later collected an additional gold in 2008. The 1995 co-rookie of the year was a five-time first-team all-NBA selection and was named to the all-defensive first team four times. Kidd ranks second all-time in steals (2,684) and assists (12,091).

Steve Nash, Grant Hill, Maurice Cheeks and Chris Webber also made the cut.

Charles “Lefty” Driesell, Rudy Tomjanovich and Baylor’s Kim Mulkey made the final ballot as coaches. Katie Smith, Tina Thompson and longtime NBA official Hugh Evans are also finalists.

The 1953-'58 Wayland Baptist University teams that won 131 consecutive games and four AAU national championships is the lone team finalist.

Finalists must receive 18 votes from the 24-member honors committee to be enshrined.

The Class of 2018 will be announced Saturday, March 31, in San Antonio before the NCAA men’s Final Four.