Mourning, Stern headline 2014 Basketball Hall of Fame class
Derick E. Hingle / USA Today Sports
On Monday, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame revealed the class of inductees for 2014 at a press event in Dallas.
All of the inductees were also revealed on the Hall's Twitter account.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2014! pic.twitter.com/aPzuOVFEs7
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) April 7, 2014
The Class of 2014 is as follows, with notes on each inductee's candidacy.
Direct Elects
- David Stern - NBA commissioner for 30 years, retired two months ago, best draft day troll in sports history. Voted in from the Contributor Direct Election Committee.
- Nat Clifton - the second African American to sign and play in the NBA, also made an All-Star Game (1956-57) with the Knicks. Voted in from the Early African American Pioneers Committee.
- Guy Rodgers - four-time All-Star, is 16th in league history in assists and tops in assist percentage, thanks in part to dropping 20 dimes in Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game. Voted in from the Veterans Committee.
- Bob 'Slick' Leonard - spent seven seasons in the NBA as a player and later, 12 years across the ABA and NBA as coach of the Indiana Pacers, winning three ABA Championships. Voted in from the American Basketball Association Committee.
- Sarunas Marciulionis - one of the first Europeans to play in the NBA, the Lithuanian also helped lead the USSR to a 1988 Olympic gold medal. Voted in from the International Committee.
Inductees
- Mitch Richmond - six-time All-Star, NBA Champion (2001-02), 36th in league history in points per game.
- Nolan Richardson - the only coach ever to win an NCAA National Championship, an NIT Championship and a Junior College National Championship, best known for leading Arkansas to the 1994 National Championship, earning him Naismith Coach of the Year honors.
- Gary Williams - coached Maryland to the 2002 NCAA National Championship and had a 668-360 career coaching record over 33 years.
- Alonzo Mourning - seven-time All-Star, NBA Champion (2005-06), 12th in league history in blocked shots and sixth in blocks per game, risked his life to play following kidney disease.
- Immaculata University (team) - won three consecutive AIAW tournaments from 1972-1974 and played in the first nationally televised women's game ever.
The Class of 2014 will be enshrined at the Springfield, Massachusetts-based hall on the weekend of August 7-9. You can read more about each soon-to-be Hall of Famer on NBA.com.