Four-time NBA Champion Manu Ginobili is a first-time nominee for the class of 2022 of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He is joined by two others with ties to the San Antonio Spurs organization.
Assistant coach Becky Hammon and former Spurs player George Karl have also been nominated for the Class of 2022. (Read also: Inside Coyote’s Den: Exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Spurs iconic mascot.)
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Ginobili helped the Spurs win NBA Championships in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014. That’s after he was drafted by the Spurs in the second round in 1999 — right before the Spurs won their first-ever title that season.
Along the way, Ginobili helped his home country of Argentina win a gold medal in 2004, becoming one of the all-time fan favorites in franchise history because of his passion for the game, which included his unbelievable gift for passing and introducing the league to the Eurostep he used overseas before he became an NBA star.
Also nominated on Tuesday was Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon who became the first full-time female assistant coach in NBA history when she was hired by the Spurs in 2014 after retiring from the WNBA. Her 15-year playing career included 8 years with the San Antonio Stars, where she was a six-time WNBA All-Star that included a previous stop in New York.
Among the nominees for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is also former Spurs player George Karl, who suited up in silver and black from 1973 to 1978 during the ABA and the team’s transition to the NBA in 1976. He would go on to be a Spurs assistant coach from 1978 to 1980. That jumped-started his coaching career to include stops in Cleveland, Golden State, Seattle, Milwaukee, Denver, and Sacramento. His 1,175 wins place him sixth all-time in NBA coaching victories.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2022 will be announced during the Final Four in New Orleans in April, and the induction ceremony will be held in September in Springfield, Massachusetts.