It is a space reserved for legends. Only the oldest ones enter and can sit at the table. It is a constellation of stars. It is the FIBA Hall of Fame, the place where the players, coaches, collaborators and those related to basketball who marked, in one way or another, the time in which they were close to the orange are recognized.
On April 30, FIBA announced its new members, the 2024 Class of figures who entered the Hall of Fame. Former Serbian player Predrag Stojaković, Indiana Pacers idol Reggie Miller, Central African Romain Sato, 81-year-old Latvian legend Skaidrīte Smildziņa, former Croatian player Danira Nakić, Olympic and world medalist with the former Yugoslavia; New Zealander Kirk Penney, former historic captain of the Tall Blacks; the coach Daniel Peterson who made history with Milan in Italy; and China’s Lijie Miao, who led her country to two Asian titles, were highlighted this year by the governing body of world basketball.
“The FIBA Hall of Fame reflects the desire and duty to pay tribute to those who have played key roles in the history of international basketball, at the same time preserving their heritage by developing a collection that already has thousands of books and related objects. to basketball,” explains FIBA on its official website.
SINCE 2007
The idea of creating a space to honor legends arose in 1990, when former coach Pedro Ferrándiz proposed it to Borislav Stankovic when he was Secretary General of FIBA. In 2001 the idea was only approved by the Board of Directors and in 2007 the FIBA Hall of Fame was officially launched.
Initially, 20 international basketball figures were highlighted. Among them, Bill Russell and his 11 NBA rings stand out, the Croatian multi-champion Drazen Petrovic or the Argentine Óscar Furlong, MVP of the 1950 Basketball World Cup.
Since its first edition, hundreds of stars who stood out at some point in history have paraded, such as the Serbian Vlade Divac, who entered in 2010; or Michael Jordan himself, who I was included in 2015 after his NBA titles and his double Olympic gold in 1984 and 1992 with the Dream Team.
Shaquille O’Neal, Yao Ming, Toni Kukoc are others who are part of this select group of honorees, the best in the history of basketball.
