Jo Jo White’s number already hangs from the rafters at TD Garden in Boston. Soon, his face will adorn the dome in Springfield, Mass.
White was one of six individuals announced Monday as making up the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s class of 2015. Fellow former NBA players Dikembe Mutombo and Spencer Haywood also were voted in, along with longtime referee Dick Bavetta, college and NBA coach John Calipari, and WNBA legend Lisa Leslie.
“The class of 2015 is a group of outstanding individuals who represent many eras and facets of basketball,” Hall of Fame chairman of the board Jerry Colangelo said in a statement. “Their commitment to the game is undeniable and the impact they have had on others is even greater. We are very pleased to honor this remarkable group of inductees.”
White made seven consecutive All-Star appearances with the Celtics, winning championships with the club in 1974 and 1976. He’s ninth on the franchise’s all-time list in minutes played and was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1976.
Mutombo averaged 2.8 blocked shots per game over his 18-season career. He played for six teams, made eight All-Star teams and was named Defensive Player of the Year four times.
Haywood was a four-time NBA All-Star and won both the ABA Rookie of the Year and MVP awards in 1970. He averaged 19.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in his NBA career, winning a title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980, but his most significant contribution to pro basketball was his 1971 court case against the NBA. Haywood won a settlement in his suit against the league, which at that time required players to wait until four years after they left high school before entering the NBA.
Bavetta is sports’ all-time iron man, having officiated 2,635 games over 39 years without ever missing a game. Though widely respected, Bavetta also has never been above poking fun at himself, as evidenced by his ongoing play-feud with Charles Barkley.
Calipari has guided Kentucky to four NCAA Final Fours, plus appearances with UMass and Memphis in 1996 and 2008, respectively, that have since been expunged. He has drawn criticism for numerous controversies for circumventing NCAA rules and for capitalizing on college basketball’s current “one-and-done” era, but he twice has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year.
Leslie was a groundbreaking women’s star, headlining the launch of the WNBA in 1996. She holds the WNBA record for career rebounds and still holds Pac-12 women’s records for scoring and rebounding. She won back-to-back WNBA titles with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 and 2002.
Joining the class of 2015 are five members voted in by various committees. Louis Dampier (ABA), John Isaacs (Early African American Pioneers), Lindsay Gaze (International), Tom Heinsohn (Veterans, as a broadcaster) and George Raveling (Contributor) also will be honored.
The enshrinement ceremony will be held Sept. 11.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@crunchtime2501
