Report: Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Gregg Popovich, More Elected to Basketball HOF
The 2023 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class will reportedly be loaded.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Becky Hammon and Gregg Popovich are among those who were elected into the class.
The official announcement will come over the weekend in Houston.
These selections come as anything but a surprise.
Wade is one of the best shooting guards in NBA history and became synonymous with the Miami Heat franchise during a career that included three championships, an NBA Finals MVP, a scoring title, eight All-NBA selections and 13 All-Star nods.
He would have won four championships were it not for Nowitzki's Dallas Mavericks in the 2010-11 season.
The Mavericks icon led his team to the championship as the NBA Finals MVP. It was an iconic moment in a career that featured the 2006-07 league MVP, 12 All-NBA selections and spots in 14 All-Star Games.
Parker is also someone who battled Wade's Heat teams in the NBA Finals. He took home four championships and the 2007 NBA Finals MVP while earning four All-NBA nods and six All-Star Game selections during his legendary career with the San Antonio Spurs.
It feels fitting that Parker will be inducted during the same year as Popovich, who was his coach during all those seasons in San Antonio.
No coach in NBA history has more regular-season wins than Popovich's 1,363, and he has found plenty of postseason success as well with five Larry O'Brien Trophies and six Western Conference titles.
His ejection also cleared the way for then-Spurs assistant Hammon to become the first woman to serve as a head coach in an NBA regular-season game in December 2020. Hammon is currently the head coach of the reigning-champion Las Vegas Aces and had a successful WNBA career of her own as a player as a six-time All-Star.
Throw in Gasol, who was a two-time champion, six-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA selection, and there will be no shortage of star power during the next Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
