Dikembe Mutombo, John Calipari elected into Basketball Hall of Fame
Former NBA players Dikembe Mutombo, Jo Jo White and Spencer Haywood, University of Kentucky coach John Calipari, former NBA referee Dick Bavetta and former WNBA player Lisa Leslie make up the 2015 class elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday.
Finalists must receive 18 of 24 votes from the honors committee to be elected into the Hall of Fame. The class will be enshrined at a ceremony on Sept. 11 at the museum in Springfield, Mass.
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The six will join five others at the ceremony who were directly elected and announced during the NBA's All-Star Weekend in February. Those five include former ABA player Louis Dampier and ex-Celtics player and coach Tom Heinsohn.
Mutombo is an eight-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He retired in 2009 after an 18-year career.
Calipari has coached Kentucky to four Final Four appearances in the last five years and won the 2012 national championship. He also took UMass and Memphis to Final Fours, but both appearances (in 1996 and 2008, respectively) were later vacated. The Wildcats lost to Wisconsin in the Final Four on Saturday, ending their bid for a 40-0 season.
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Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan was among the 2015 finalists who did not receive enough votes to be elected, joining Bill Fitch, Tim Hardaway, Kevin Johnson, Robert Hughes and Leta Andrews.
- Molly Geary
