Tamika Catchings, Swin Cash, David Stern Among Women's Basketball HoF Inductees
August 22, 2021
Former NBA Commissioner David Stern was included in the latest class of inductees for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday night alongside Tamika Catchings, Swin Cash, Lauren Jackson, Debbie Brock, Carol Callan, Sue Donohoe and Carol Stiff.
Catchings was a 10-time All-Star and league MVP in 2011. She was already inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this year in a star-studded class alongside Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett.
The former Tennessee star is the WNBA's all-time leader in steals while ranking in the top five in both career points and rebounds.
Jackson is also among the best frontcourt players in league history, winning three MVP awards with the Seattle Storm. She also starred for the Canberra Capitals in the WNBL in Australia before joining Seattle.
Cash was known for her all-around play while earning four All-Star selections. She won three WNBA titles in her professional career and two NCAA titles with UConn.
Stern, who died in 2020, was a key figure in the formation of the WNBA in 1996.
Eric Stern represented his father at the induction ceremony Saturday night.
Maria M. Cornelius @mmcorneliusEric Stern, the son of David Stern, delivers his late father's induction speech <a href="https://twitter.com/TNTheatre?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TNTheatre</a> into <a href="https://twitter.com/WBHOF?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WBHOF</a>. David Stern, whose early support of <a href="https://twitter.com/WNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wnba</a> was critical as <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBA</a> commissioner, was inducted posthumously. <a href="https://t.co/DLGECKZMnq">pic.twitter.com/DLGECKZMnq</a>
"The WNBA was my father's baby," he said. "It was something he had to fight for. He had to spend a lot of professional capital, and even some personal capital, to make it happen.
"There were a lot of doubters. He tended to enjoy conflict and didn't mind it at all. He did a lot of civil rights work as he was growing up. He had a strong conviction toward equity and equality."