Manu Ginobili Reportedly Headlines 2022 Basketball Hall Of Fame Class

Topline

Former San Antonio Spurs and Argentine National Team star Manu Ginobili will headline the 2022 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class, The Athletic reported Thursday, joining former NBA star Tim Hardaway, former WNBA star Swin Cash, former NBA coach George Karl, and NCAA coach Bob Huggins.

Key Facts

Ginobili, a four-time NBA champion and two-time All-Star with the San Antonio Spurs, took home the gold medal as the star of the 2004 Argentine men’s Olympic basketball team—the only year in which the U.S. men’s team did not take home gold in the Olympics since the U.S. began sending professional players in 1992.

Hardaway, a five-time NBA All-Star with the Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat, won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. Men’s Olympic team in 2000.

Cash, already a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, is a three-time WNBA champion and two-time gold medalist as a member of the U.S. women’s Olympic team.

Karl, a former head coach for six different NBA teams over the course of a 38-year career, holds the sixth-most wins in NBA coaching history.

Huggins, currently the head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers, holds the sixth-most wins of any coach in NCAA men’s basketball history, having also coached for Walsh, Akron, Cincinnati and Kansas State.

What To Watch For

The Hall of Fame is set to make formal announcements of the inductions Saturday, according to The Athletic. The enshrinement ceremony will be held at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, on September 10.

Key Background

Players become eligible for the Hall of Fame after being fully retired for at least four seasons. Retired coaches must also wait four years, but active coaches with at least 25 years of experience are also eligible. More than 400 people have been enshrined into the Hall since its establishment in 1959.

What We Don’t Know

It is unclear who will present the members of this class at the induction ceremony. Inductees are presented by current Hall members. Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, a five-time NBA champion, two-time league MVP and Ginobili’s teammate with the Spurs for 14 years, seems to be the most likely candidate to induct the Argentine legend.