The best roasts from NBA Hall of Fame speeches

"Timmy didn't talk to me my rookie year," Parker said. "People think I'm crazy when I say that, but it's true. Timmy don't like French people. He doesn't like my French accent."

Parker revealed that he was so intimidated by Duncan that when Coach Popovich told him he'd be starting his fifth career game, Parker's first response was, "Does Timmy know?"

Longtime Spurs defensive stalwart Bruce Bowen, a player not known for his offensive talent, caught a stray when Parker talked about how he was always complaining about not getting the ball. Parker of course blamed Coach Pop for "calling all the plays for Timmy."

Popovich had jokes about coaching Parker hard when he was a rookie, saying that he'd be "behind bars" if he coached that way in 2023.

Coach Pop also turned the roaster on himself, claiming he wasn't any kind of coaching genius — he just had great players. 

"It’s not brain science," Popovich said. "Like when was the last time you saw a new pick-and-roll play? It’s all the same damn stuff. Jerry Sloan ran the same play 77 times in a row, but he had Karl [Malone] and John [Stockton.]"

Dirk Nowitzki paid tribute to his former coaches and teammates, calling Don Nelson an "incredible basketball mind" who was also "very creative off the floor." 

But he declined to give specifics of the fiery speeches, saying, "They're not kid-friendly. But they always came down to me having zero talent on defense. And he always let me know that."

He also discussed some of the questionable decisions that he and longtime teammate Steve Nash had made regarding their hair. "We came a long way from those two brutal haircuts." 

Nash may be the only Basketball Hall of Fame to play with frosted tips, in fact. But while Nowitzki praised Nash as "the best teammate I ever had," he also tweaked both Nash and co-presenter Jason Kidd.

"I would have loved to play with those two in their primes," Nowitzki quipped. "But unfortunately, I had to deal with what they gave me."

Even when crediting the "greatness" of his Hall of Fame class, with Parker, Pau Gasol and Dwyane Wade, Nowitzki made sure to remind them, "I didn't always like you guys."

That's what Hall of Fame weekend is all about. Giving respect to the greatest players in history — but not too much respect.