The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame could receive three new Australian members in 2024, with a trio of elite Aussie hoopers named as nominees for the HOF Class of 2024.
Australian legends Andrew Gaze, Penny Taylor, and Michele Timms were all named as nominees for next year's HOF class, three of the 24 spots allocated to international nominees.
Other notable international nominees include NBA All-Star Andrei Kirilenko and Euroleague legend Juan Carlos Navarro, while the North American nominees are headlined by All-Stars Vince Carter and Chauncey Billups, as well as the 2008 Olympic-champion USA squad, nicknamed 'The Redeem Team'.
Australian trio named as Hall of Fame nominees
For Australian basketball fans, the names Andrew Gaze, Penny Taylor, and Michelle Timms are synonymous with greatness, three of the best basketball players the country has ever produced.
Gaze is widely considered the greatest NBL player ever, boasting a resume that includes seven NBL MVP awards, two NBL championships and one in the NBA, as well as ranking second and third all-time in Olympic and World Cup scoring, respectively.
Taylor was a WNBA megastar - across 15 years in the league she was a three-time All-Star, three-time Champion, and a two-time All-WNBL selection. She won two Olympic silver medals (2004, 2008), two World Cup bronze medals (2002, 2014), and led Australia to its first and only World Cup championship in 2006, where she was named MVP of the tournament.
For Timms, her legacy is as an Australian basketball trailblazer, not to mention a simply legendary talent. In 1989, she became the first Aussie to play professional basketball internationally, joining German team Lotus München.
She went on to play four years in the WNBA for the Phoenix Mercury, where she became a one-time All-Star and eventually saw her number seven jersey raised to the rafters. Timms also won a World Cup Bronze, an Olympic Bronze, and an Olympic Silver medal as part of the Opals.
How many Australians are in the Basketball Hall of Fame?
Only two Australians are currently enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, with Gaze, Taylor, and Timms hoping to increase this to five.
The first Australian to enter the HOF was Lindsay Gaze in 2015, historic coach and father of 2024 Nominee Andrew, as well as the spiritual father of basketball in Australia.
Six years later, he was joined in Springfield by Lauren Jackson, her country's greatest-ever basketball player, and the first Australian woman to enter the HOF.
When are the HOF inductions announced?
The final nominations for the Class of 2024 will be announced on April 6, with the official enshrinement ceremony taking place on August 16.
The ceremony is held in Springfield, Massachusetts, which the HOF website cites as the 'Birthplace of Basketball'.
