Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, and Gregg Popovich headline the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2023

Being a professional athlete is something that most kids dream of doing. Statistics say that only three percent of high school basketball players will advance to the collegiate level and only one percent of those players make it pro. As of 2022, there had been 4,706 different players to make an appearance in the NBA. Of those players, only the greatest have made the Hall of Fame, and a new class was recently just announced. 

Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, and Gregg Popovich headline the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2023. Being inducted alongside those three legends are Paul Gasol, Tony Parker, and WNBA legend Becky Hammon. Sources say a formal announcement is set to happen this Saturday at the Men’s Final Four in Houston.

SALT LAKE CITY — Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol and Gregg Popovich headline the list of finalists for the 2023 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, it was announced Friday as part of NBA All-Star weekend.#nba #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/axLZnyKPMN

— Nothing But Sports (@NBSCENTRAL) February 18, 2023

The NBA Hall of Fame class for 2023 is full of some of the league’s best players and coaches in the last 25 years

Topping the list of this year’s NBA Hall of Fame class is the three-time NBA champion with the Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade. He played 15 of his 16 NBA seasons with the Heat and was a 13-time all-star in the process. Wade was also an Olympic gold medalist with Team USA in 2008. The 41-year-old had played with some of the game’s best players like Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron, James, Chris Bosh, and Alonzo Mourning.

Next up is Dirk Nowitzki who is one of the league’s first European superstars that proved overseas talent could be successful in the NBA. He’s a 2011 NBA champ and a 14-time all-star. Dirk was also the MVP of the league in 2006-07 and played all 21 years with the Dallas Mavericks. He’s currently sixth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has been around the league for a long time and he’s one of the game’s most legendary coaches. He’s won five titles with the Spurs in his 27 years as head coach and made San Antonio one of the greatest small-market NBA franchises of all time. Popovich is the NBA’s all-time leader in wins as a head coach and has won COY three times.