SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The rivalry between Robert Parish and James Worthy was upstaged Friday night by the revelry around the rest of the eclectic group that comprised the Class of 2003 entering the Basketball Hall of Fame.

While Parish and Worthy were honored as third wheels on NBA championship teams, nearly all other avenues of the game were recognized.

From the pioneering Earl Lloyd to international hoops to the women's game to the showmanship of Meadowlark Lemon and Chick Hearn, this year's class truly displayed the far reaches of basketball.

"This is the ultimate," Worthy said during his induction speech. "It is more than an honor to be amongst the Hall of Famers tonight, specifically those who paved the way." The long-time Los Angeles Laker made a special mention of Lloyd, the NBA's first black player and assistant coach.

"I can't imagine the sacrifices you made for most of us in this room and I thank you for that," Worthy said graciously.

Lloyd provided a simple answer during his speech.

"The folks that told me how to do it, I was blessed that they knew what they were talking about," said Lloyd, going on to list such luminaries as Clarence "Big House" Gaines, Danny Biasone, Al Cervi, Dave Bing, Dave DeBusschere, Bailey Howell, Dolph Schayes, Bob Lanier and Bill Sharman.

Worthy also acknowledged Marge Hearn, the wife of the late Lakers' broadcaster who gave Worthy the nickname "Big Game James."

"I'm a little disappointed that our Carolina people didn't think of that first," said Dean Smith, the legendary coach who won the 1982 NCAA title, with Worthy leading the way.

Hearn developed that nickname and many other catch phrases during a remarkable run of 3,338 consecutive Lakers' broadcasts from 1965-2001. He died just over a year ago at 85, but not before earning a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1986. He received the Hall of Fame's Curt Gowdy Media Award in 1992.

There was good humor throughout the evening, a tone set by master of ceremonies Marv Albert.

With Friday night's festivities being televised by NBA TV to 29 countries, the long-time voice of basketball provided some levity, claiming Worthy and Parish "finally have something in common, other than their mutual contempt for Bill Laimbeer."

The all-time leader in seasons and games played, Parish promised to keep his speech "short and sweet," which belied his on-court appearance.

The 7-footer was known as "Chief," a nickname given to him by Boston Celtics teammate Cedric Maxwell, who said Parish's stoic demeanor resembled the character Chief Bromden in the film, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

There were some chants of "Chief" from the black-tie crowd as Parish approached the podium.

The days leading up to the ceremony linked Parish and Worthy, each of whom served as the third option on dynastic teams of the 1980s. Even in immortality, the members of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players cannot seem to get away from each other.

Parish and Worthy helped rekindle the best rivalry in basketball annals as the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA Finals three times in the 1980s. Boston won in seven games in 1984 and Los Angeles won in six games in 1985 and 1987.

A nine-time NBA All-Star, Parish teamed with Hall of Famers Larry Bird and Kevin McHale to form one of the finest frontcourts in league history. The trio won NBA titles in 1981, 1984 and 1986.

Worthy played his entire 12-year career with the Lakers, winning NBA titles in 1985, 1987 and 1988 alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson. He appeared in seven All-Star Games and is one of just seven Lakers to have his number (42) retired.

Living up to his nickname, Worthy had the only triple-double of his career in Game Seven of the 1988 Finals and was named Finals MVP.

The celebration began with Lemon, "The Clown Prince of Basketball," being introduced by Manny Jackson, the CEO of the Harlem Globetrotters, who were inducted as a team last year.

"Hallelujah!" said a choked-up Lemon, who played more than 16,000 games for the Globies from 1957-79. "Man, I've had a great run. It's been wonderful."

Louisiana Tech coach Leon Barmore made his appreciation more visible than vocal as he honored the women's game that helped him make his name. Barmore had Tennessee coach Pat Summitt introduce him and was accompanied to the stage by Nell Fortner, the coach of the WNBA's Indiana Fever.

Barmore compiled a 576-87 record and made nine trips to the Final Four in 20 years as coach at Tech. He was the selection of the Women's Screening Committee.

Also inducted was Dino Meneghin, who was introduced by Bob McAdoo as "Italy's greatest player ever." McAdoo, who played briefly in Italy, knew what he was talking about.

Meneghin played in an Italian League-record 834 games, winning seven championships. A four-time Olympian, he was named by Giganti del Basket as the greatest player in European history in 1991.

All seven inductees were officially welcomed by Dave Gavitt, who ended a seven-year run as chairman of the Hall of Fame Board of Trustees.

Earlier, the Hall announced that NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik was selected as the new chairman. Granik has been on the Hall of Fame's board for 20 years.

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index