Former Piston Grant Hill going to the hoop Hall of Fame

Grant Hill will be elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 2018 class along with Steve Nash and Jason Kidd, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

A formal announcement of the entire 2018 class is expected this weekend at the Final Four in San Antonio.

The Naismith Hall of Fame recognizes contributions from a worldwide basketball perspective including international and college ball.

Hill became a household name in college as a member of the Duke Blue Devils where he won two national championships. He also played in the NBA for 19 years and during his stint with the Pistons was one of the most dominant players in the game.

He was selected third overall in the 1994 NBA Draft and went on to win Grant Hill (he actually shared the award with fellow inductee Kidd). he also made five All-Star appearances as a member of the Pistons (seven overall) and was selected for the All-Rookie team and five All-NBA teams. Hill finished third in the MVP voting in 1996-97.

His Pistons teams went to the playoffs four times but never made it past the first round.

Hill averaged 16.7 points, 6 rebounds and 4.1 assists as a hyper-athletic, multi-positional forward. In other words, he would have been perfect for the way the game is played today. In those first six years he amassed more than 9,000 points, 3,000 rebounds and 2,700 assists. At the time, only Oscar Robertston and Larry Bird could say the same. Eventually, LeBron James joined that exclusive club.

Unfortunately, a serious ankle injury and other subsequent maladies robbed Hill of athleticism and several productive NBA seasons. He left Detroit for a mega-contract with the Orlando Magic. That deal, ironically, sealed the next Pistons dynasty as it netted Detroit Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins.

During his seven-year deal with the Magic, Hill managed to play in only 200 games. Eventually, he regained his health and became a productive role player for the Phoenix Suns for several years. His final season in the NBA was with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2012-13.

Also, apparently, Maurice Cheeks was also elected into the Hall of Fame. Presumably, not for his one-year tenure with the Pistons.