Here are the Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2023 elects originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
It’s a star-studded Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2023.
Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Becky Hammon and Gregg Popovich are the six elects following the announcement prior to the men’s Final Four games in Houston on Saturday. All six are first-ballot Hall of Famers.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
Wade won three NBA titles with the Miami Heat, including Finals MVP in 2006, and Olympic gold for USA Basketball in 2008. The shooting guard earned 13 All-Star nods and also had short stints with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Nowitzki played his entire 21-year career with the Dallas Mavericks, where he delivered the franchise’s lone NBA title in 2011 to go with a Finals MVP award. He scored 31,560 career points, which is currently sixth most all-time. He was named league MVP in 2007 and earned 14 All-Star nods as one of the rare elite stretch bigs of his era.
Gasol had tenures with five different NBA teams, most notably with the Memphis Grizzlies from 2001-08 and the Los Angeles Lakers from 2008-14. The six-time All-Star won two titles with L.A. and had his No. 16 jersey retired by the franchise this season.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
Parker played all but one of his 18 total seasons with the San Antonio Spurs. The other in 2018-19 came with the Charlotte Hornets. The six-time All-Star won four titles with San Antonio and was named Finals MVP in 2007, when he claimed his third ring.
Hammon’s legacy combines both the player and coaching aspect. Her WNBA tenure with the New York Liberty (1999-06) and San Antonio Stars (2007-14) ended with six All-Star nods and two All-WNBA First-Team selections. She became the first full-time female coach in NBA history with the Spurs from 2014-22 before leaving to become head coach of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, where she led the team to a title in her first year.
Popovich has coached the Spurs since 1996 and has five NBA titles and three NBA Coach of the Year awards to his name. He’s also the winningest head coach in league history.
Enshrinement weekend is set for Aug. 11-12, 2023.
