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Basketball Hall Of Fame Officially Announces 2024 Class

April 6th, 2024 at 10:54am CST by Luke Adams

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has officially announced its Class of 2024, confirming in a series of tweets the inductees that have been previously reported as well as the other finalists who were elected to the Hall.

Here’s the full list of new Hall of Famers:

Chauncey Billups: A five-time All-Star who made three All-NBA teams and a pair of All-Defensive teams, Billups won a championship and a Finals MVP award with the Pistons in 2004. He is currently the head coach of the Trail Blazers. (Twitter link)
Vince Carter: Carter played for an NBA-record 22 seasons and scored 25,728 career points, which currently ranks 24th in league history. He’s an eight-time All-Star, a two-time All-NBA member, and was the 1999 Rookie of the Year. (Twitter link)
Michael Cooper: Cooper won five NBA championships with the Lakers, earning eight All-Defensive nods and won the Defensive Player of the Year in 1987. (Twitter link)
Walter Davis: A six-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA member, Davis won the Rookie of the Year award in 1978 and remains the Suns’ all-time leading scorer with 15,666 points. He died in 2023. (Twitter link)
Jerry West: A Hall of Famer already as a player and as a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team, West is being enshrined for a third time as a contributor due to his work as an executive for the Lakers, Grizzlies, Warriors, and Clippers. (Twitter link)
Doug Collins: A four-time All-Star as a player, Collins is being inducted as a contributor for his work as a head coach of the Bulls, Pistons, Wizards, and Sixers, including 442 career regular season wins, as well as his time as a broadcaster. (Twitter link)
Herb Simon: Simon has been the Pacers’ owner since 1983, making him the longest-tenured governor in NBA history. (Twitter link)
Seimone Augustus: Augustus was a two-time Naismith College Player of the Year and was the WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2006. She won four titles in the league, made eight All-Star teams, and claimed the WNBA Finals MVP award in 2011. (Twitter link)
Dick Barnett: Barnett, an NBA All-Star in 1968, won championships with the Knicks in 1970 and 1973 after earning three NAIA titles with Tennessee A&I College (now Tennessee State University) from 1957-59. (Twitter link)
Bo Ryan: Ryan was the longtime men’s basketball head coach at Wisconsin. He won four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year awards and made back-to-back Final Four appearances in 2014 and 2015. (Twitter link)
Michele Timms: A WNBA All-Star in 1999 and a Defensive Player of the Year runner-up in 1997 for the Phoenix Mercury, Timms won Olympic bronze and silver medals with the Australian national team. (Twitter link)
Harley Redin: The former men’s and women’s basketball coach at Wayland Baptist University (Texas), Redin won six AAU national championships. He died in 2020. (Twitter link)
Charles Smith: Smith is the winningest high school head coach in Louisiana history and has led nine teams to high school state championships. (Twitter link)

The enshrinement of the 2024 class will take place in Springfield, MA on Friday, August 16 and Saturday, Aug. 17.

Vince Carter, Chauncey Billups Among Hall Of Fame Finalists

February 16th, 2024 at 10:02pm CST by Rory Maher

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 14 finalists for 2024 on Friday evening (via Twitter), with former NBA stars Vince Carter and Chauncey Billups among the nominees. Billups is currently head coach of the Trail Blazers.

Here’s the full list of finalists:

Chauncey Billups — Five-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA, two-time All-Defense, one-time champion, 2003/04 Finals MVP (Pistons)
Vince Carter — NBA-record 22 seasons, 25,728 career points (23rd in NBA/ABA history), eight-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA, 1998/99 Rookie of the Year
Michael Cooper — Five-time NBA champion, eight-time All-Defense, 1986/87 Defensive Player of the Year (all with the Lakers)
Walter Davis — Six-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA, 1977/78 Rookie of the Year, Suns‘ all-time leading scorer
Bo Ryan — Former head coach of Wisconsin, four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year
Charles Smith — Winningest high school head coach in Louisiana history
Seimone Augustus — Four-time WNBA champion, eight-time All-Star, 2006 Rookie of the Year
Marian Washington — Longtime former head coach of Kansas (women’s)
Dick Barnett — Two-time NBA champion, one-time All-Star, three-time NAIA champion at Tennessee A&I
Harley Redin — Former men’s and women’s coach of Wayland Baptist University (Texas)
Michele Timms — One-time WNBA All-Star, Olympic bronze and silver medals with Australian national team
Doug Collins — Former NBA player, coach and broadcaster *
Herb Simon — Pacers owner *
Jerry West — Four NBA championships as an executive with the Lakers (he’s already in the Hall of Fame as a player) *

* Nominated as contributors

The Class of 2024 will be unveiled on Saturday, April 6 during the NCAA’s Final Four. The enshrinement ceremony for 2024’s Hall of Fame inductees will take place on Saturday, August 17.

“Unbelievable,” Carter said of being a finalist, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “You look in the crowd, you see Hall of Famers, and the opportunity … I mean, you can’t beat that. You can’t beat that. It’s a proud moment.”

“Everybody that enters the NBA … it’s their dream. It’s basically basketball heaven to be in the Hall of Fame,” Billups told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter links). “That was never my goal when I was playing. I just wanted to try to win and be the best teammate I could be. … I’m just humbled by today. Just being close to it is an honor. I know I’m not there, but I’m closer. It’s a straight honor.”

According to Reynolds, four others were honored by the Hall of Fame as well. JoAn Scott, the NCAA’s vice president of men’s basketball, received the John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award. J.A. Adande and Debbie Antonelli received the Curt Gowdy Awards for print and electronic journalism, respectively, while Slam Magazine and the television show “NBA Inside Stuff” received the award for transformative media.

Former Suns Star Walter Davis Passes Away

November 2nd, 2023 at 1:51pm CST by Rory Maher

Walter Davis, who starred in college at North Carolina, passed away on Thursday morning of natural causes, the Tar Heels announced in a press release. He was 69 years old.

Many of Davis’ top NBA accomplishments came while he was on the Suns, who selected him fifth overall in 1977. He earned an All-Star nod, was named second-team All-NBA, and won Rookie of the Year during his debut season in 1977/78. He followed that up with All-Star and second-team All-NBA honors in ’78/79.

The 6’6″ guard/forward made six All-Star teams in 11 seasons with Phoenix, and he remains the team’s all-time leading scorer. His No. 6 jersey was retired by the Suns.

Davis, who won a gold medal with the U.S. in 1976, averaged 18.9 points, 3.8 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals over the course of 15 years in the NBA, which included stints with the Nuggets and Trail Blazers at the end of his career (1033 regular season games, 27.9 minutes per night). He shot 51.1% from the field and 85.1% from the free throw line.

We at Hoops Rumors send our condolences to Davis’ friends and family, which includes his nephew, former NBA guard Hubert Davis, who is currently head coach of the Tar Heels.