The newest members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will be announced Saturday, but names of the enshrinees were leaked late Friday.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears, these five men are in the Class of 2019: Al Attles, Vlade Divac, Bobby Jones, Sidney Moncrief and Paul Westphal. Attles, who coached the Golden State Warriors to their first NBA championship, was elected as a contributor; Divac received his honor from the Hall's International Committee.
Together, the five earned 16 All-Star berths and 10 All-NBA selections.
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Jones was best known for his defensive ability; he was selected to an All-Defensive team (ABA and NBA) 11 times in his 12 pro seasons. He was a member of the 76ers' championship squad in 1983.
Moncrief was a five-time All-Defensive player himself, but he was much more well-rounded; he averaged 20 or more points four times with the Bucks.
Westphal's best seasons came with the Suns after they acquired him in a trade with the Celtics in 1975. He averaged 22.5 points and 5.6 assists in his first five seasons in Phoenix. He returned in 1983 for what became his final NBA season as a player. Westphal took Phoenix to the NBA Finals in his first season as a coach, 1992-93. The Suns lost in six games to the Bulls.
Divac was one of the first European players to have success in the NBA. The big man from Serbia played 16 seasons with the Lakers, Hornets and Kings from 1990 to 2005. He also was on the other side of the trade that sent Kobe Bryant to the Lakers in 1996. Divac is now the Kings' general manager.
Attles joined the Warriors franchise in 1960 when it was still based in Philadelphia. Four years after his final game as a player, he led Golden State to the 1975 title. It took the franchise 40 years to win another one. The Warriors have since added back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018 and are expected to win another one this year.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's 2019 induction ceremony will be held Sept. 6 in Springfield, Mass.
