Manu Ginobili, Swin Cash, Tim Hardaway Headline 2022 Basketball HOF Finalists
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the finalists for its class of 2022 on Friday.
The group includes four-time NBA champion Manu Ginobili, three-time WNBA champion (and two-time NCAA champ) Swin Cash, four-time WNBA champion Lindsay Whalen and five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, among seven others.
As far as the other finalists go, the list also includes Leta Andrews, the winningest high school basketball coach in history. Michael Cooper was a key member of the Los Angeles Lakers' Showtime dynasty teams in the 1980s. Hugh Evans served as an NBA referee for three decades.
Bob Huggins, the current West Virginia men's basketball coach, owns 913 career wins on the collegiate level. Marques Johnson is a five-time NBA All-Star who also won the 1975 NCAA title with UCLA. Ex-NBA head coach George Karl sits sixth on the all-time regular-season wins list.
Marianne Stanley, the current Indiana Fever head coach, played at Immaculata during the school's AIAW basketball tournament dynasty in the 1970s. She's coached collegiately and professionally nearly every year since 1977 and won WNBA Coach of the Year honors with the 2002 Washington Mystics.
As far as the selection process for the eventual class goes, the Hall of Fame broke that down:
"The purpose of the Honors Committee is to review carefully the selected Finalist’s basketball record before casting a vote in favor of or against Enshrining the Finalist in the BHOF. There are 24 voting members on each of the two Honors Committees (North American and Women’s). The Honors Committees consist of Hall of Famers, basketball executives and administrators, members of the media, and other experts in the game of basketball. A Finalist must garner a minimum of 18 votes from the respective Honors Committee to be Enshrined in the BHOF."
Hypothetically, all 11 finalists could make the Hall; there is no limit on the number of people per class.
The class of 2022 will be revealed during this year's NCAA Division I men's Final Four in New Orleans (April 2-4). The enshrinement ceremony will occur on Sept. 9 and 10 from Springfield, Massachusetts, the Hall of Fame's home.
