What basketball fan hasn't heard of Kevin McHale, Larry Bird and Alex English, NBA greats who were the biggest names inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame the last three years? But what about Billie Moore, Fred Zollner, Aleksandar Nikolic and Antonio Diaz-Miguel? That's a different story.

	Ex-Laker James Worthy is the biggest name on next year's Hall of Fame list.

The Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., the city where the sport was founded, is a great place to visit and a better place to be enshrined. But if you look at a list of the 234 individuals who have been elected since the first class back in 1959, be prepared to look up some of the names.

That's because this Hall of Fame, to much more of a degree than those in the other major sports, puts a greater emphasis than the others on rewarding people who didn't play the game. The list of enshrinees includes those who have contributed (Senda Abbott?), coached (Dr. H Clifford Carlson?) and refereed in not only North America's featured professional hoops league, the NBA, but internationally and in college, as well as the women's game worldwide. There are even four teams (Buffalo Germans?) elected to the Hall!

Not that there's anything wrong with this, of course.

Ask anyone who has been elected to the Hall and they will tell you about the great sense of pride and fulfillment such an honor brings. But in basketball, being connected to the game in some way and having an impact gives you a much better chance to be elected than other sports. That's how this sport defines its greats -- it's the people who helped define the game.

Of the 234 non-teams in the Hall, 117 are players. Of that group, only 68 played in the NBA, which began play in 1946 with 11 teams, including the Pittsburgh Ironmen, Providence Steamrollers, St. Louis Bombers and Toronto Huskies. Overall, only 41 percent of the people (97 individuals) in the hoops Hall have been associated with David Stern's cashcow in some way.

"I agree with that way of thinking, since a lot of these people were pioneers in helping to develop this sport," said ESPN's Fred Carter, who played and coached in the NBA and now analyzes it for TV and radio. "Whether it's a woman or a man, a referee or a coach, people like Eddie Gottlieb deserve their spot. Plenty of people -- not just players -- were contributing factors to today's NBA and college game."

Gottlieb, who was chosen for his role as innovator and promoter of the game and was a Philadelphia coaching legend before and after the NBA was formed, is an example of someone historic basketball fans have certainly heard of, but not today's generation that thinks the sport began with Michael Jordan. Among others who have been voted in are inventor of the game Dr. James Naismith, former NBA commissioners like Larry O'Brien, Harlem Globetrotter guru Abe Saperstein, Indiana coach Bob Knight and Amos Alonzo Stagg, probably better known for having his name affixed to the Div. III college football championship game. Stagg played in the first public basketball game (1892) and coached in the first college game with five players per side (1896).

As NBA commish Stern preaches often, women are a big part of the sport, and they are represented well. Ann Meyers, Nancy Lieberman-Cline and Carol Blazejowski are in. Popular Indiana Pacer Reggie Miller isn't in the Hall, but sister Cheryl Miller is.

So when visiting the Basketball Hall of Fame, or looking at the list of finalists in the voting, remember that the game doesn't begin and end with James Worthy, a guy likely to make it next season. The global game is also reflected in its Hall of Fame, so get ready to look up some names.

Eric Karabell is the NBA editor at ESPN.com