By CNN
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The induction ceremony of the new class of the Basketball Hall of Fame is one of the tentpole events of the sport’s calendar.
Held in the middle of the offseason, it is an opportunity for the next wave of legends to have their moment being recognized for their contributions to basketball before they are immortalized forever.
2023 sees another wave of all-timers of the sport enter into the Hall of Fame, and here’s all you need to know.
How to watch
The 2023 class of the Hall of Fame will be inducted on Saturday, August 12 at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts, coined the “Birthplace of Basketball.”
The ‘Enshrinement Ceremony’ begins at 8 p.m. ET and is broadcast across the US via NBA TV.
The 2023 inductees
Like every year, the Hall of Fame class of 2023 is a star-studded one.
Each has contributed a huge amount to the game and deservedly is being recognized for their achievements.
Here’s a list of this year’s class:
• 1976 US Women’s Olympic basketball team
• Becky Hammon
• David Hixon
• Dirk Nowitzki
• Dwyane Wade
• Gary Blair
• Gene Bess
• Gene Keady
• Gregg Popovich
• Jim Valvano
• Pau Gasol
• Tony Parker
Each of the basketball luminaries being inducted into the Hall of Fame has chosen previous inductees to present them to their new peers.
For example, long-time San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will be accompanied by four of the key contributors to the organization’s five championship victories between 1999 and 2014 – David Robinson, Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.
Dwyane Wade will be inducted by his long-time Miami Heat teammate Chris Bosh, while Dirk Nowitzki chose his former Mavericks teammates Jason Kidd and Steve Nash.
Amongst the others joining Popovich, Wade and Nowitzki in the Hall of Fame include Gene Bess – the all-time winningest college basketball coach across all levels – WNBA legend Becky Hammon, legendary coaches David Hixon, Gene Keady and Gary Blair, and multiple NBA All-Stars and title winners Pau Gasol and Parker.
Also being inducted is the 1976 US Women’s Olympic basketball team that won the silver medal in the first-ever Olympic Games which featured the women’s competition of the sport and, as USA Basketball describes, “helped change the trajectory of women’s basketball, as increased opportunities to play collegiately, professionally and abroad became the norm.”
Jim Valvano will be posthumously inducted on Saturday too. Valvano was a successful college player and coach, before later working as a broadcaster for college basketball.
He is also remembered for his courageous battle with cancer, in particular his moving speech at the 1993 ESPY Awards about never giving up, before dying just weeks later.
Valvano helped set up the V Foundation for Cancer Research to tackle cancer, and since its formation in 1993, has awarded over $310 million in cancer research grants nationwide and has become one of the premier supporters of cutting-edge cancer research.
