Hall of Fame finalist World B. Free soaks in opportunity once thought off the table

World B.Free couldn’t help himself.

His NYC side had to show.Free was a Sixers rookie on a fast break in 1975, running a two-on-one scenario with veteran and venerable teammate Billy Cunningham alongside him.“I saw Billy,” Free, a recent first-time Naismith Hall of Fame nominee, told The Post.“But I saw the hoop, too.”The sold-out crowd oohed and aahed as Free converted a spin move “like Earl the Pearl Monroe.“Coming from New York, we’re shaking and baking, we’re doing what we do to get to the basket.

That’s the theme of New York.But I didn’t finish it.

I got there, and didn’t finish the layup,” Free said.“So Billy went to the coach and said, ‘Get him out of the game.’ I didn’t play much for two months after that.

That’s when I had to learn the difference between streetball and this ball.”Free might’ve understood the difference as a rookie but still blurred the lines for much of his 13 NBA seasons.A combo guard who averaged over 30 points in a season for the Clippers, Free dazzled with his showmanship, 44-inch vertical leap, an eagerness to shoot and one of the best names in sports.Now 71, and 35 years removed from retirement, Free had mostly given up on the Hall of Fame — at least until last month, when the Brooklyn product was nominated by the veterans committee for the 2025 class.

Finalists are to be announced on Valentine’s Day, with other candidates including Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Doc Rivers and Paul Silas.Free’s credentials suggest he’s a long shot for Springfield — most notably the lack of team success when Free was a leading scorer — but the selection process is shrouded in mystery and difficult to predict.“It would be a tear-dropping moment if I got in,” said Free, who was only once an All-Star despite averaging over 20 points for his career with the Sixers, Warriors, Cavaliers and Rockets.“To go through all the things I had to go through to get to where I was in the sport.”Free gre...