Former Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade and Dallas Mavericks’ power forward Dirk Nowitzki headline the 2023 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class, as announced by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Saturday.
The two former basketball stars are joined by San Antonio Spurs legend Tony Parker and former Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol, Gregg Popovich and Becky Hammon, the current head coaches of the SA Spurs and the Las Vegas Aces, respectively.
Congratulations to 13x @NBAAllStar, 3x @NBA Champion and 2006 NBA Finals MVP, #23HoopClass inductee @DwyaneWade. pic.twitter.com/d0GmbuGbzP
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) April 1, 2023
Wade, who is one of the most successful players in the history of the NBA, has won three championships, one Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) award (2006), one All-Star Game MVP (2010), and has been named to the All-Star Game 13 times in his career, which started in 2003 and ended in 2019.
Congratulations to 14x @NBAAllStar, 2006-07 @NBA MVP and 2011 NBA Champion, #23HoopClass inductee @swish41. pic.twitter.com/vq753j5LXC
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) April 1, 2023
Nowitzki, on the other hand, led the Mavericks to their first and only championship in 2011, winning the Finals MVP in the same year. He was also named the league’s MVP in 2007 and was named an All-Star 14 times in a 21-year career that began in 1998 and ended in 2019.
The four NBA players — Nowitzki, Parker, Gasol and Wade — combined for 95,092 points, 39 All-Star appearances and 10 NBA championships, while Hammon was a six-time WNBA All-Star and is the coach of the reigning WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces.
Popovich is the coach with the most wins in the history of the NBA, and he also led the Spurs to five championships.
Congratulations to the winningest coach in @NBAHistory and 5x @NBA champion, #23HoopClass inductee Gregg Popovich. pic.twitter.com/oO3rGjCByh
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) April 1, 2023
Jerry Colangelo, the Hall of Fame chairman, revealed the joyous news to the new members earlier this week, with most of them joining Colangelo and other Hall of Famers for a celebratory dinner on Friday before taking their first public bows as members of ‘basketball heaven’ earlier today.
“This class not only represents all levels of basketball — it represents truly, in every regard, what the game is all about and where it is,” Colangelo said. “I mean, think about the candidates. Other countries are represented: Germany, Spain and France.
“It shows how far the game has come and where it is today. I think maybe it’s the most unique class, I’d say, of all time, and that covers a lot of territories. It stands by itself in its uniqueness.
“And Popovich? All he’s done is win five NBA titles, more games than anyone else in league history and an Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Games that were played in 2021,” the Chairman added.
Other inductees include former North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano, the 1976 U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team, former Purdue coach Gene Keady, former Texas A&M women’s coach Gary Blair, longtime coach at Division III Amherst David Hixon, and Gene Bess, who won 1,300 games as a junior college coach at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
The induction ceremony for the Naismith Hall of Fame’s class of 2023 will take place in Connecticut on August 11 and Massachusetts on August 12.
The new members will get their jackets and Hall of Fame rings on the 11th in Uncasville, Connecticut, and then the ceremony and their speeches will come a day after in Springfield, Massachusetts.
