2023 Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees Announced
Out of 12 finalists, six basketball lifers — Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Becky Hammon, and Gregg Popovich — have been elected into the 2023 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Adrian Wojnarowski reports. The official announcement will be at the Final Four in Houston.
The enshrinement ceremony will take place on Aug. 12, 2023 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The roster includes five NBA players or coaches and one WNBA player and coach. None of these are considered surprises to any real basketball fan.
Maybe the best playing career on this goes to Nowitzki, a 14-time All-Star, 12-time All-NBA, 2006-07 MVP, 2010-11 NBA Finals champion and Finals MVP.
Wade is a Hall of Famer! Of course, for D-Wade this is certainly well-earned. Wade played for 16 seasons, boasted 13 All-Star appearances, and won three championships. He was also an eight-time All-Pro.
Of course, you have the two Spurs greats, Popovich and Parker. Both were vital leaders of what became a San Antonio Spurs dynasty throughout the 2010s. Popovich has five rings, but the duo won four championships together from 2002-18. Parker was a key do-it-all defender for the Spurs throughout these years.
One of the top replies on Woj’s breaking news tweet was that Hammon didn’t deserve this Hall of Fame nod, but I strongly disagree. Hammon, the current coach of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, is a six-time WNBA All-Star. She also guided the Aces to a Finals win in 2022.
Gasol played had a different career than a lot of the other greats on this list. He bounced around the league a little bit more than anyone else, most notably with Memphis and the Lakers. He’s more than deserving, with six All-Star appearances, four All-NBA first teams and back-to-back championships with LA.
Seeing Wade and Nowitzki make it in is really satisfying for me. With that being said, there’s no doubt in my mind, each and every one of these stars is deserving of a Hall of Fame bid.
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