Gasol, Nowitzki, Parker, Popovich among Hoop Hall finalists

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki,Tony Parker and Gregg Popovich are all one step closer tobasketball immortality.

The three international greats — Gasol, Nowitzki and Parker —were among the list of Class of 2023 finalists unveiled Friday bythe Basketball Hall of Fame, putting them on the doorstep ofenshrinement this summer. Also on that list: Popovich, thewinningest coach in NBA history with the San Antonio Spurs, andDwyane Wade, part of three championship teams with the MiamiHeat.

“It’s really about the journey,” Gasol said. “These type ofrecognitions, which are an amazing honor, they come along when youdo things very, very well for a long time and when you love whatyou do. I’m just privileged to have played the game for so long, ata high level, with amazing people who taught me so much.”

Also making the finalist cut were four selections from theWomen’s Committee — 1990 national player of the year, Olympicchampion and world champion Jennifer Azzi; six-time WNBA All-Starand WNBA championship-winning coach Becky Hammon; and longtimecoaches Gary Blair and Marian Washington.

The other finalists from the North American Committee includeGene Bess, believed to be the all-time collegiate coaching winsleader with 1,300 to his credit; two-time Division III nationalchampion David Hixon; and seven-time Big Ten coach of the year GeneKeady.

“I love the class. I think this is a loaded class,” Hall of FameChairman Jerry Colangelo said.

Colangelo said it’s unusual for finalists to get this far intheir first year on the ballot. Wade, Popovich, Gasol, Parker,Nowitzki and more got this far in their first opportunity.

“The Class of 2023 will be remembered as one of the mostdistinguished classes the Hall of Fame will ever see, and we areextremely excited for this unparalleled collection of talent andachievement to be one step closer to Springfield,” Colangelosaid.

Popovich has coached San Antonio to five NBA titles, four ofthem with Parker as the team’s point guard, and led the U.S. to thegold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The other two legs of the Spurs’Big 3 from that championship era — Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili —are already Hall of Famers.

Nowitzki is sixth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and ledDallas to the 2011 NBA title as the top moment in his 21-yearcareer, all of it spent with the Mavericks. Gasol won NBA titlesand led Spain to a FIBA world championship, and Wade was a 13-timeAll-Star, Olympic champion and earned membership on the NBA’s 75thanniversary team.

Hall of Famers get an orange jacket to commemorate theirenshrinement. Wade said he’s dreamed of wearing one, noting thathe’s now “one step closer.”

“A young Dwyane Wade never would have thought this moment wouldbe here,” Wade said. “Sometimes when you’re young and you have adream, a lot of people don’t believe in your dream. It seems sofar-fetched. But I’ve always been a dreamer.”

The Hall also announced Friday that longtime high school scoutTom Konchalski will receive the John W. Bunn Lifetime AchievementAward, the highest honor the Hall bestows short of enshrinement.CBS Sports will receive one of the Curt Gowdy media awards handedout this year, with ESPN’s Holly Rowe and Marc Spears also nowGowdy recipients.

The Hall class will be announced April 1 at the NCAA men’s FinalFour in Houston. Enshrinement weekend is August 11 and 12 atUncasville, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts.