Dikembe Mutombo, John Calipari headline finalists for Hall of Fame 2015 class
NEW YORK — The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 15 finalists for enshrinement in the Hall’s Class of 2015 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, with four-time Defensive Player of the Year Dikembe Mutombo headlining the list of prospective honorees with NBA ties.
“To me, it’s like a dream come true,” said Mutombo, whose illustrious 18-year career included eight All-Star berths — three with the Denver Nuggets, four with the Atlanta Hawks and one with the Philadelphia 76ers — as well as stints with the New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and Houston Rockets. “Being from Africa, who would have ever thought that my name would have been called to the Basketball Hall of Fame? I never dreamed of playing basketball to reach this level.”
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Joining Mutombo among NBA-related candidates to make the final cut are 39-year veteran NBA referee Dick Bavetta, former New Jersey Nets and current University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari, longtime NBA coach and two-time Coach of the Year Bill Fitch, seven-time All-Star and former Boston Celtics great Jo Jo White, five-time All-Star point guard Tim Hardaway, four-time All-Star big man Spencer Haywood and three-time All-Star lead guard-turned-mayor of Sacramento Kevin Johnson.
Hardaway, Haywood and Johnson have made the final round before; it’s the first time for the others, including Calipari, who took a few moments away from his pursuit of a perfect season with his No. 1-ranked Wildcats to express his gratitude at being named a finalist:
Other finalists for enshrinement include Lisa Leslie, a three-time WNBA Most Valuable Player, two-time WNBA champion and four-time Olympic gold medalist who was the first player to dunk in a WNBA game; longtime University of Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan, who won four NCAA Division III national championships as the head coach of UW-Platteville; Robert Hughes, who won a record 1,333 games during a long career as a boys’ high-school coach in Texas; and Leta Andrews, who surpassed Hughes’ mark with 1,416 wins during 52 years of coaching girls’ high-school ball in the Lone Star State.
Finalists need to receive 18 of 24 votes from the Hall’s Honors Committee to earn election, so it’s not yet certain which of the 15 announced Saturday will make the final cut. If Mutombo’s one of them, though, he’s left absolutely no mystery as to how he’ll celebrate.
The Hall on Saturday also announced five “direct-elect” enshrinees in the Class of 2015, led by former Boston Celtics coach and longtime team color commentator Tommy Heinsohn, who was inducted as a player back in 1986, making him one of only four people — along with John Wooden, Lenny Wilkens and Bill Sharman — to be inducted as both a player and a coach.
He’ll be joined by Louie Dampier, the ABA’s all-time leader in points, assists, minutes and games played; John “Wonder Boy” Isaacs, who played for the legendary, barrier-breaking all-black Harlem Renaissance in the 1930s and ’40s and helped pioneer the motion offense; Australian playing and coaching legend Lindsay Gaze; and George Raveling, former Washington State and Iowa head coach George Raveling, who now serves as the director of international basketball for Nike.
The Hall announced Saturday that longtime former player, coach and executive Rod Thorn, who now serves as the league’s president of basketball operations, will receive the Hall’s John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award, and that photographer Rich Clarkson and University of North Carolina broadcaster Woody Durham will receive the Hall’s Curt Gowdy Award.
The final Class of 2015 will be announced on Monday, April 6, before the NCAA Men’s Championship game, and will be enshrined in the Hall in Springfield, Mass., on Sept. 10 and 11.
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