The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 12 finalists for 2023 on Friday evening, and what a star-studded list it is.
Here are the 12 finalists:
- Gregg Popovich – Winningest coach in NBA history, five-time NBA champion
- Dirk Nowitzki – 14-time All-Star, 12-time All-NBA, 2006/07 MVP, 2011 NBA champion and Finals MVP
- Dwyane Wade – 13-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA, three-time NBA champion, 2006 Finals MVP
- Tony Parker – Six-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA, four-time NBA champion, 2007 Finals MVP
- Pau Gasol – Six-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA, two-time NBA champion, 2002 Rookie of the Year
- Becky Hammon – Six-time WNBA All-Star, two-time first-team All-WNBA
- Jennifer Azzi – 1990 Naismith Player of the Year, 1990 national champion with Stanford; 1996 Olympic gold medal
- Gene Bess – All-time winningest college coach (1,300) across all levels in 50 years at Three Rivers Community College in Missouri
- Gene Keady – Seven-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, six-time National Coach of the Year with Purdue
- Gary Blair – 852 wins, 2011 national champion with Texas A&M (women’s)
- Marian Washington – 560 wins, 11 NCAA appearances with Kansas (women’s)
According to the Hall of Fame, the entire class of 2023 will be announced in Houston, on April 1 at the NCAA Men’s Final Four at 11 a.m. ET. Potential Enshrinees from the Direct Elect Committees may also be recognized at the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
The class of 2023 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Mass., on August 11-12.
In addition to the aforementioned nominees, the Hall of Fame also announced that legendary high school scout Tom Konchalski was honored as the 2023 John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Konchalski, unfortunately, passed away a couple of years ago. You can read more about him here.
Marc J. Spears and Holly Rowe of ESPN were named the 2023 Curt Gowdy Media Award winners for print and electronic, respectively, while CBS Sports won the award for the transformative category.
