LOS ANGELES -– The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today, at NBA All-StarWeekend, eight phenomenal players, three standout coaches, one exceptional referee, and one record-setting team as finalists from the North American and Women’s committees to be considered for election in 2018.
This year’s list includes six first-time finalists: two-time NBA Champion Ray Allen, two-time NCAA Champion Grant Hill, 10-time NBA All-Star Jason Kidd, two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, three-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Smith and four-time WNBA Champion Tina Thompson.
Previous finalists included again this year for consideration are four-time NBA All-Star Maurice Cheeks, the only coach in NCAA history to be named Conference Coach of the Year in four different conferencesCharles “Lefty” Driesell, 28-year NBA referee Hugh Evans, two-time NCAA National Championship Coach of Baylor Kim Mulkey, two-time NBA Champion coach Rudy Tomjanovich, five-time NBA All-StarChris Webber and 10-time AAU National Champions Wayland Baptist University.