2023 Hall of Famer

By Dorothy J. Gentry Sports Editor

Beloved Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki will be inducted into basketball’s Hall of Fame this fall.

Nowitzki is among 12 inductees who were announced Saturday in Houston, the site of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Final Four. The Class Announcement was televised live on ESPN.

This year was Nowitzki’s first to be eligible for the Hall of Fame.

The 2023 class will be inducted during Enshrinement festivities August 11-12, in Springfield, Mass., the birthplace of basketball, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Saturday.

Also making the cut in the

Naismith Class of 2023 are former San Antonio Spurs point guard and four-time NBA champion Tony Parker and former Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade.

Nowitzki, who is No. 6 on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 31,550 points, was named league MVP in 2007. He won a championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 and was named Finals MVP.

In December, the Mavericks unveiled a statue of Nowitzki in front of American Airlines Center.

This year’s North American Committee inductees

(in alphabetical order):

Gene Bess - All-time win- ningest college coach (1,300), 2-time NJCAA Coach of the Year

Pau Gasol - 6-time All-Star, 2-time NBA champion, 2002 Rookie of the Year

David Hixon - 826 wins, two- time D3 national champion, two-time D3 Coach of the Year

Gene Keady - six-time NCAA Coach of the Year, 17 NCAA tournament appearances

Dirk Nowitzki - 14-time AllStar, 2006-07 MVP, 2011 NBA Champion

Tony Parker - six-time AllStar, fou-time NBA champion, 2007 Finals MVP

Gregg Popovich - Winningest coach in NBA history, three-time NBA Coach of the Year, five-time NBA Champion

Dwyane Wade - 13-time AllStar, three-time NBA champion, 2006 Finals MVP

This year’s Women’s Committee inductees

(in alphabetical order):

Gary Blair - 852 wins, 2011 National Champion, two-time Final Four participant

Becky Hammon - six-time WNBA All-Star, two-time FirstTeam All-WNBA recipient

This year’s Direct Elect Committee inductees

(in alphabetical order):

1976 Women’s Olympic Basketball Team (Women’s Veterans) – Silver Medalists in inaugural appearance for women’s Olympic basketball

Jim Valvano (Contributor) –1983 NCAA champion, created The V Foundation for Cancer Research

Tickets to the 2023 Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend events are available here: hoophall.com/events/enshrinement-2023