Tim Hardaway won’t be sitting by his phone in the next couple of days, waiting on the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to let him know his stellar career will be rewarded with a trip to Springfield, Massachusetts.

That honor will likely belong to the late Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, among others this go-round, as the class of 2020 will be announced Saturday afternoon.

Some may double-take when they realize Hardaway isn’t in, as one of the league’s most decorated and feared players during the ’90s, but he isn’t and doesn’t feel like his time will ever come.

“It would be great, solidify my career,” Hardaway said in a candid conversation with Yahoo Sports. “[But] I’m not gonna beg for nothing. I've never begged for nothing in my life.”

Hardaway has been on the 50-player ballot and was a finalist in 2017. That year, Tracy McGrady, Rebecca Lobo and Bill Self were the headliners.

Hardaway, a five-time All-NBA performer during his time with Golden State and later Miami, was left off and has put it out of his mind.

View photos (Yahoo Sports illustration) More

He feels like he knows why, given his homophobic comments in 2007 in which he stated in a radio interview, “I hate gay people. … I don’t want to be around gay people. I am homophobic.”

Hardaway has long atoned for his remarks, apologizing and since becoming an advocate for the LGBTQ community, doing the work behind the scenes and out front, but it seems to remain a hurdle in his chances of getting into the Hall of Fame.

“My grammar school coach, he said those people are very powerful and will hold a grudge against you and you'll never get into the Hall of Fame,” Hardaway said.

At first, Hardaway didn’t believe his former coach. He wanted to believe the work he was doing, the way he was vocal in his support for the LGBTQ community and owning his ignorance would account for something.

“When he said it, I thought it'll be forgiveness but as I think about it … my feelings was like, damn, I did [expletive] up, huh?” Hardaway said.

Hardaway’s education on the LGBTQ community

Having grown up in the early 1980s on the South Side of Chicago, conversations about different sexualities were taboo. And then playing in the masculine environment of the NBA didn’t leave much time for enlightenment. But just as he dove headfirst into his love of the game and even in his coaching career, he took the same approach following his hurtful words.

“I go to centers, talk to kids all the time that want to commit suicide,” Hardaway said, remarking he had two transgender family members who were initially reluctant to approach him about it. “But I had to come to them and tell them I know what you're going through and you can trust in me. What I said is what I said, but it was some stupid stuff. It should've never come out of my mouth. I love you, I support you. If you need me, you can talk to me anytime.”

If there’s a positive that’s come from this, it’s his own education. As open as times are now, they weren’t that way as recently as 15 years ago. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” was an actual U. S. policy on military service.

“People say bad things [to the vulnerable], throw rocks at them. At the time, I didn't know that,” Hardaway said. “I tell these kids, don't worry about these bullies. People tried to bully me. I ran away. I told the principal, people I trusted. I told them, you gotta be confident in yourself. If you're confident in yourself, nobody can mess with you.”

View photos Tim Hardaway averaged 17.7 points and 8.2 assists during his NBA career. (Harry How/Allsport) More

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