Jordan takes place in Hall of Fame

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Michael Jordan, considered by many the greatest basketball player of all time, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday.

Jordan joined former San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson, ex-Utah Jazz guard John Stockton, long-time Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and Rutgers University women's coach C. Vivian Stringer in the new class.

Unsurprisingly, Jordan was the center of attention.

"Contrary to what you guys believe, it's not just me going into the Hall of Fame," Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships and then finished his career with a two-year stay with the Washington Wizards after taking a stab at professional baseball, told a news conference.

"It's a group of us and I'm proud to be a part of them and, believe me, I'm going to remember them as much as they remember me."

He enters the Hall of Fame alongside Stockton and Sloan, who, respectively, played for and coached the Jazz team Jordan's Bulls defeated in the 1997 and 1998 NBA finals.

GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Jordan's game-winning shot against Utah to win that last championship was a major highlight in a career filled with too many outstanding achievements to count.

Asked to talk about his most special basketball accomplishment, Jordan said: "It's so hard. It's like asking 'which one of your kids is your best kid?'

"I've had so many great accomplishments, so many spectacular plays, big plays, game-winning shots. It's hard for me to pick out one."

Jordan, currently the managing member of basketball operations of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats and a major global advertising force, said he would never say he was the greatest player of all time.

"People say that I was the greatest who ever played the game, I cringe a little bit. I never played against Jerry West, I never played against Elgin Baylor, I never played against Wilt Chamberlain," he said.

"Yeah, I would have loved to but to say that I'm better than those people is not for me to decide.

He said he saw "some resemblance" between himself and current NBA players LeBron James and Kobe Bryant but added: "Don't be in a rush to try to find the next Michael Jordan -- there's not going to be another Michael Jordan."

After applause, he clarified, saying players from every era had their own special qualities.

(Editing by Sonia Oxley)