A new class of basketball legends is headed to Springfield, Mass.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced its latest class Saturday, featuring 13 new members. Vince Carter, Chauncey Billups and Seimone Augustus headline this year’s group, but they are not the only names on the marquee.
Michael Cooper, Walter Davis, Bo Ryan and Charles Smith are headed to the Hall of Fame too. Former Knicks guard Dick Barnett was elected through the men’s veterans committee. Harley Redin, a longtime women’s basketball head coach at Wayland Baptist University, was chosen by the women’s veteran committee. Michele Timms, a longtime Australian National Team member and a former WNBA All-Star who had her number retired by the Phoenix Mercury, was voted in by the international committee.
Jerry West, Doug Collins and Herb Simon will go to the Hall of Fame as well as contributors. The Athletic reported earlier in the week that Carter, Billups and Barnett would be part of this year’s class, which will be formally enshrined in August.
Carter is inarguably the biggest name headed to the Hall this year. Carter made eight All-Star Games during his 22-year career and will be remembered as one of the best dunkers in NBA history, including his memorable dunk over Frederic Weis at the 2000 Olympics, when he helped lead the United States to a gold medal.
“Just to be in the finalist list is top notch in itself. … To get the call (for induction) on April Fool’s Day, I needed a moment just to process it and make sure this is real,” Carter told ESPN during the announcement show.
“It’s a wonderful moment.”
Billups will go to the Hall with one of the coolest nicknames in league history. Mr. Big Shot earned that reputation for his play and leadership with the Detroit Pistons, whom he led to the 2004 NBA championship, when he won NBA Finals MVP.
“I just felt so validated when I got off of that call,” Billups said on ESPN.
Augustus was both a college and WNBA star. She won the Naismith and Wooden awards in back-to-back years at LSU, then went No. 1 in the 2006 WNBA Draft, winning Rookie of the Year. She was an eight-time All-Star during her 15-year WNBA career and won four WNBA titles with the Minnesota Lynx, in addition to three Olympic gold medals.
Cooper was a key member of the Showtime Lakers. He won five NBA titles and was the 1986-87 Defensive Player of the Year. He made eight All-Defensive teams.
Davis is a six-time All-Star and the leading scorer in Phoenix Suns history. He also won a gold medal for the U.S. at the 1976 Olympics.
Barnett won titles across college basketball and the NBA. He won three consecutive national titles at Tennessee A&I University but is best remembered for his 14-year NBA career. He was a vital member of the 1970 and 1973 Knicks, the only times that franchise won NBA titles, and his No. 12 is retired at Madison Square Garden.
Timms is one of the best players in Australian basketball history. She won two medals for the country’s national team and was an All-Star during her five seasons with the Mercury.
Ryan, Smith and Redin all had legendary coaching careers. Ryan won four Division-III national championships as the head coach at University of Wisconsin-Platteville, then became one of the best Big Ten coaches of his era, helping to lead the Wisconsin Badgers to two Final Fours during his 15 years there. Smith was the longtime coach at Peabody Magnet High School in Louisiana, where he won eight state titles and became the state’s the winningest head coach ever. Redin went 431-66 at Wayland Baptist and won six AAU national titles.
West is already in the Hall of Fame as a player, but now he makes it for his work in the front office. He built title-winning Lakers teams two decades apart, setting up the 1980s and 2000s Lakers, and winning eight rings in all as the lead decision-maker for the franchise. He was also a general manager with the Memphis Grizzlies, where he won his second Executive of the Year award, and he won two titles as an executive with the Golden State Warriors. He’s now an adviser with the LA Clippers.
Collins coached the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers, but he may be remembered best as one of the television voices of the NBA for his time on air at a number of networks that broadcast the league.
Simon has owned the Indiana Pacers for 41 years — that makes him the long-tenured owner in league history. He bought the franchise with his brother, Mel, in 1983.
(Photo of Vince Carter: Robert Laberge / Allsport)
