Back when the Lakers were putting on shows as good as anything coming out of Hollywood, the coolest guy in the building mightB次元官网网址檝e been courtside.

Even across the country, .

B次元官网网址淕rowing up, the guy I looked at was Jack Nicholson,B次元官网网址� Spike Lee said. B次元官网网址淲hen I was sitting in the blue seats at the Garden, I said, B次元官网网址楬opefully one day I can sit courtside like my guy Jack Nicholson.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

Lee eventually made it to the front row to watch his beloved Knicks. And this weekend, he and Nicholson will together make it to basketballB次元官网网址檚 Hall of Fame.

Along with fellow actor and entertainer Billy Crystal and businessman Alan Horwitz, they will be added to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of FameB次元官网网址檚 James F. Goldstein SuperFan Gallery on Sunday, a few hours before this yearB次元官网网址檚 class is enshrined in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Named for Goldstein, one of the NBAB次元官网网址檚 most familiar non-playing faces who attends some 100 games a year, the gallery recognizes fans for their knowledge and passion of basketball, along with their reputation within the basketball community and their appreciation for the history of the sport. Besides Goldstein, the gallery established in 2018 includes Penny Marshall and Raptors fan Nav Bhatia.

Celebrities are just fans with better seats

They are more famous than most, but at heart are just like the customers sitting way up in the cheap seats.

B次元官网网址淚 merely represent all devoted fans of the game we love,B次元官网网址� said Crystal, a longtime Clippers ticket holder whose love of the team dates back to when they still played in San Diego.

Besides, for the most die-hard of fans, itB次元官网网址檚 never about where they sit. ItB次元官网网址檚 just about being in the building when their team needs them most.

For Lee, that was May 8, 1970. Then 13 years old, he missed his fatherB次元官网网址檚 concert performance after receiving an offer to attend Game 7 of the NBA Finals. He wasnB次元官网网址檛 sitting close, but still had a great view to see with his injured leg that had forced him to miss Game 6 against the Lakers and had his availability in doubt for the decider.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been to World Series, World Cup, Super Bowls and Olympics,B次元官网网址� Lee said. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 the loudest noise IB次元官网网址檝e ever heard in my life.B次元官网网址�

Billy Crystal has had it B次元官网网址榬oughB次元官网网址� in LA as a Clippers fan

The Knicks won that title and added another in 1973, though have only gotten close a couple times since Lee became a ticket holder after they drafted Patrick Ewing with the No. 1 pick in 1985. HorwitzB次元官网网址檚 Philadelphia 76ers are also still stuck in a lengthy drought, though still nothing quite like the Clippers, still waiting for their first chance to deliver for Crystal.

B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 been suffering, too,B次元官网网址� Lee said. B次元官网网址淲hat makes it worse, heB次元官网网址檚 in L.A. and heB次元官网网址檚 all the years with the Clippers when the Lakers had Magic and Shaq and Kobe. Oh man, that was really rough.B次元官网网址�

Nicholson was on the right side of the Los Angeles rivalry after becoming a Lakers ticket holder in the 1970s. The three-time Academy Award-winning actor would adjust his shooting schedules and personal meetings so he could be seated in his sunglasses next to the visiting bench at big Lakers games.

It was from that spot that he watched the Lakers blow a 24-point lead against Boston in Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals B次元官网网址� a defeat Nicholson saw coming as the Celtics were rallying.

B次元官网网址淚t was late in the game and I just kept hearing, B次元官网网址楬ey Doc, weB次元官网网址檙e dead men walking,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� said Doc Rivers, then the Celtics coach. B次元官网网址淎nd he just kept saying it. I didnB次元官网网址檛 quite know what he was talking about and then I figured it out late when we came back and won the game.B次元官网网址�

The two would become friends when Rivers later coached the Clippers, and the LakersB次元官网网址� most famous fan even went to check out the other side when they were facing the Houston Rockets in the 2015 playoffs.

B次元官网网址淛ack came to that game,B次元官网网址� Rivers said. B次元官网网址淪howed up at a Clipper game and then we blew a (huge) lead and he left and I donB次元官网网址檛 think heB次元官网网址檒l ever go back to another Clipper game again.B次元官网网址�

Now 87, Nicholson no longer goes to see the Lakers and is the only one of the four new superfans not expected to attend SundayB次元官网网址檚 ceremony.

Spike Lee on Hall of Fame honor: B次元官网网址榃ho would have thunk it?B次元官网网址�

Lee is still a regular at Madison Square Garden, now wearing a Jalen Brunson jersey that was once a John Starks one. The Hall of Fame honor is significant for him, he said, because of how close he has become to many NBA players through his film career, from Air Jordan commercials with Michael Jordan to movies such as B次元官网网址淗e Got Game.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 know these guys and especially the visiting teams, a lot of these guys, they come on the court and they come and say hello to me,B次元官网网址� Lee said, chuckling at how many times Jordan would profanely tell him to sit down. B次元官网网址淭hey give me five, give me a hug B次元官网网址� and these are the opposing teams.B次元官网网址�

Sometimes, those interactions backfire and Lee bears the blame for a Knicks loss. He was blasted for riling up Reggie Miller in the playoffs when Indiana came back for a Game 5 victory. When Kobe Bryant poured in an opponent-record 61 points on Feb. 2, 2009, he was motivated by not letting Lee run his mouth if the Knicks won when they were meeting later that night for a project they were working on.

Lee has a stat sheet from the game signed by Bryant, who wrote: B次元官网网址淪pike, this (expletive) was your fault!!!!B次元官网网址�

Now heB次元官网网址檒l join Jordan, Bryant and many other greats in the Hall of Fame.

B次元官网网址淩esorting to some Brooklyn language,B次元官网网址� Lee said, B次元官网网址渨ho would have thunk it?B次元官网网址�