Back when the Lakers were putting on shows as good as anything coming out of Hollywood, the coolest guy in the building might91裸聊视频檝e been courtside.

Even across the country, .

91裸聊视频淕rowing up, the guy I looked at was Jack Nicholson,91裸聊视频� Spike Lee said. 91裸聊视频淲hen I was sitting in the blue seats at the Garden, I said, 91裸聊视频楬opefully one day I can sit courtside like my guy Jack Nicholson.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

Lee eventually made it to the front row to watch his beloved Knicks. And this weekend, he and Nicholson will together make it to basketball91裸聊视频檚 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 Fame91裸聊视频檚 James F. Goldstein SuperFan Gallery on Sunday, a few hours before this year91裸聊视频檚 class is enshrined in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Named for Goldstein, one of the NBA91裸聊视频檚 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.

91裸聊视频淚 merely represent all devoted fans of the game we love,91裸聊视频� 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, it91裸聊视频檚 never about where they sit. It91裸聊视频檚 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 father91裸聊视频檚 concert performance after receiving an offer to attend Game 7 of the NBA Finals. He wasn91裸聊视频檛 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.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檝e been to World Series, World Cup, Super Bowls and Olympics,91裸聊视频� Lee said. 91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 the loudest noise I91裸聊视频檝e ever heard in my life.91裸聊视频�

Billy Crystal has had it 91裸聊视频榬ough91裸聊视频� 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. Horwitz91裸聊视频檚 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.

91裸聊视频淗e91裸聊视频檚 been suffering, too,91裸聊视频� Lee said. 91裸聊视频淲hat makes it worse, he91裸聊视频檚 in L.A. and he91裸聊视频檚 all the years with the Clippers when the Lakers had Magic and Shaq and Kobe. Oh man, that was really rough.91裸聊视频�

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 91裸聊视频� a defeat Nicholson saw coming as the Celtics were rallying.

91裸聊视频淚t was late in the game and I just kept hearing, 91裸聊视频楬ey Doc, we91裸聊视频檙e dead men walking,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� said Doc Rivers, then the Celtics coach. 91裸聊视频淎nd he just kept saying it. I didn91裸聊视频檛 quite know what he was talking about and then I figured it out late when we came back and won the game.91裸聊视频�

The two would become friends when Rivers later coached the Clippers, and the Lakers91裸聊视频� most famous fan even went to check out the other side when they were facing the Houston Rockets in the 2015 playoffs.

91裸聊视频淛ack came to that game,91裸聊视频� Rivers said. 91裸聊视频淪howed up at a Clipper game and then we blew a (huge) lead and he left and I don91裸聊视频檛 think he91裸聊视频檒l ever go back to another Clipper game again.91裸聊视频�

Now 87, Nicholson no longer goes to see the Lakers and is the only one of the four new superfans not expected to attend Sunday91裸聊视频檚 ceremony.

Spike Lee on Hall of Fame honor: 91裸聊视频榃ho would have thunk it?91裸聊视频�

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 91裸聊视频淗e Got Game.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚 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,91裸聊视频� Lee said, chuckling at how many times Jordan would profanely tell him to sit down. 91裸聊视频淭hey give me five, give me a hug 91裸聊视频� and these are the opposing teams.91裸聊视频�

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: 91裸聊视频淪pike, this (expletive) was your fault!!!!91裸聊视频�

Now he91裸聊视频檒l join Jordan, Bryant and many other greats in the Hall of Fame.

91裸聊视频淩esorting to some Brooklyn language,91裸聊视频� Lee said, 91裸聊视频渨ho would have thunk it?91裸聊视频�