LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas Aces' head coach Becky Hammon and chief business development officer Jennifer Azzi have both been named finalists for the Naismith Basketball Hall Of Fame Class of 2023.
Eight male players and four female players made the cut.
Hammon joined the Aces last year and led them to a WNBA championship. She was also named the WNBA Coach Of The Year and is the first rookie head coach to win a WNBA title.
Prior to joining the Aces, she was with the San Antonio Spurs from 2014 to 2021 and was the first full-time female coach in any of the four major professional sports.
In 2020, she also made history as the first woman to coach an NBA team after head coach Gregg Popovich was ejected from a game.
Hammon is also a six-time WNBA All-Star suiting up for the New York Liberty and San Antonio Stars during her career.
She was also inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
At Guard, From Colorado State, A Class of 2023 Finalist, @BeckyHammon. #23HoopClass pic.twitter.com/dGMEGbKpaX
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) February 17, 2023
Jennifer Azzi could also enter the hall.
She was the Naismith College Player of the Year in 1990 and was given the Wade Trophy after leading Stanford to the NCAA Championship.
She also won a gold medal as part of Team USA during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. In addition to her career overseas, she played in the WNBA from 1999 to 2003.
Azzi was also a coach for six seasons at the University of San Francisco.
She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and, in 2021, she joined the USA Basketball board of directors. That's also when she joined the Las Vegas Aces.
At Guard, From Stanford, A Class of 2023 Finalist, @JenniferAzzi. #23HoopClass pic.twitter.com/qoQuQsuHq9
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) February 17, 2023
Other notable names that could enter the hall as part of the Class of 2023 include Popovich, Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, and Dwyane Wade.
An Honors Committee will now consider each entrant before making their final selections.
The entire Class of 2023 will be announced in Houston on April 1 during the NCAA Men's Final Four.
They'll be enshrined in the hall during festivities in Springfield, Massachusetts on Aug. 11 and 12.
