Reports of who will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame have been trickling out for the past week or so, but on Saturday, the Hall of Fame itself announced who would earn enshrinement ahead of the men's Final Four in Phoenix. The class of 2024 will feature the following 13 basketball legends:
- Vince Carter -- An eight-time NBA All-Star, Carter played for eight teams across a 22-year NBA career. He made his name as a member of the Toronto Raptors before eventually spending time with the New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks. Carter was the 1999 NBA Rookie of the Year and 2000 Slam Dunk Contest champion. He played 1,541 games in his NBA career, the third-most of all time.
- Chauncey Billups -- The No. 3 overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, Billups needed a few years before he found himself as a player. After bouncing around from the Boston Celtics to the Raptors to the Denver Nuggets to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Billups found a home as the starting point guard for the Detroit Pistons. He led the Pistons to the 2004 NBA championship, earning Finals MVP honors in the process. He eventually reached five All-Star Games and is currently the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.
- Michael Cooper -- An integral part of the "Showtime" Lakers dynasty of the 1980s, Cooper was a third round pick in 1978 that went on to be selected to eight All-Defensive Teams in 12 NBA seasons. He is one of only six guards ever to win Defensive Player of the Year, and he won five championships as a member of the Lakers. Upon retirement, he went on to have a long coaching career which included two WNBA championships with the Los Angeles Sparks.
- Walter Davis -- A six-time NBA All-Star, Davis spent the majority of his career with the Phoenix Suns. He won Rookie of the Year in 1978 and holds the league record for most points scored in a game before missing a shot, as he made his first 15 shots for 34 total points in a 1983 game. Davis was also a college star at North Carolina, and he earned a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics playing for his college coach, Dean Smith. Davis died last November.
- Dick Barnett -- A two-time NBA champion with the New York Knicks in the 1980's, Barnett was also a legendary collegiate player at Tennessee State. His Tigers won three consecutive NAIA championships from 1957-59, and he graduated as the school's all-time leading scorer. In addition to his time with the Knicks, Barnett played for the Syracuse Nationals, Cleveland Pipers and Los Angeles Lakers.
- Seimone Augustus -- One of the most decorated college players of all time, Augustus swept the major Player of the Year awards in both 2005 and 2006 when she starred for the LSU Tigers. She would go on to be selected No. 1 overall in the WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx, and her professional career was just as successful. Augustus won four championships and made eight All-Star teams while playing for the Lynx, and she also earned three Olympic gold medals in 2008, 2012 and 2016 playing for Team USA.
- Michele Timms -- Already 32 years old when the WNBA began play in 1997, Timms made her name during a legendary career playing in Australia's WNBL. She was a seven-time selection to the WNBL All team and was twice named the Women's International Player of the Year (1994, 1996). She helped Australia earn its first Olympic medal when she led them to bronze in 1996, and though she played only briefly for the Phoenix Mercury from 1997-2001, her No. 7 jersey was retired by the team, making her only the second WNBA player ever to receive the honor.
- Herb Simon -- The longest-tenured NBA owner since the death of Jerry Buss, Simon purchased the Indiana Pacers in 1983. Across his four decades of stewardship, the Pacers have been among the NBA's most consistently competitive teams. Though they've never won a championship, the Pacers have missed the playoffs only nine times since 1990.
- Doug Collins -- Recognized as a contributor for his lifelong achievements in the game of basketball, Collins has done just about everything that can be done in the sport. He was a legendary college player for Illinois State before being drafted No. 1 overall in 1973 by the Philadelphia 76ers. He spent nine seasons there as a player before he embarked upon a successful coaching career with the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards and the 76ers. When not coaching, Collins is also a very experienced broadcaster having called games for multiple networks. He is currently a senior front office advisor for the Chicago Bulls, and he was a key figure for Team USA during its controversial gold medal game loss to the Soviet Union in 1972.
- Bo Ryan -- For 30 years, Ryan coached college basketball in the state of Wisconsin. His first head-coaching job came in 1984 for Wisconsin-Platteville. He moved on to Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1999, and finally, Wisconsin-Madison, the flagship state school, in 2001. His career head-coaching record was 747-233, and in his final full season, he led the Badgers to the national championship game before ultimately falling to Duke.
- Harley Redin -- A former Marine during World War II, Redin coached both the men's and women's basketball teams at Wayland Baptist University. He went 151-88 coaching the men from 1948-56 before going 429-63 leading the women's team. He earned medals coaching the Team USA women at the 1959 and 1971 Pan American Games, and was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.
- Charles Smith -- The winningest coach in Louisiana high school history, Smith won nine state championships at Peabody Magnet High School. He has two perfect 41-0 seasons, and he was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2021.
- Jerry West -- A two-time inductee as both a player and a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic Team, West now enters the Hall of Fame for a third time as a contributor. Widely considered the greatest general manager in NBA history, West was one of the architects behind the five Laker championships of the 1980s and the five they won between 2000-2010. He drafted James Worthy and Kobe Bryant, signed Shaquille O'Neal as a free agent and hired Phil Jackson as a coach. He went on to serve as an executive board member for the Warriors from 2011-2017, winning two more championships and playing a part in the recruiting of Kevin Durant. He has served in a similar role for the Los Angeles Clippers since 2017. West is the first person ever to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as both as a player and a contributor.
"Without a shadow of doubt, the accomplishments of the 2024 class stand as a testament to unparalleled excellence," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, according to NBA.com. "From showcasing unrivaled prowess on the courts and sidelines, spanning the high school, collegiate and professional ranks, to steering the course of basketball across an entire continent and to orchestrating a pair of dynasties, we are honored to pay tribute to these remarkable individuals alongside our esteemed award recipients."
The Class of 2025 is unlikely to feature many big names, as the best player to retire from the NBA after the 2020-21 season was Marc Gasol, who played in Spain afterward. The Class of 2026 will likely feature at least one NBA legend in Carmelo Anthony. The Class of 2024 will officially be enshrined in the Hall of Fame during the weekend of August 16-17, right in the middle of the NBA's offseason.
