Sikma, Divac, Moncrief headline Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2019
The 12 newest members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame have been confirmed.
Vlade Divac, Jack Sikma, Sidney Moncrief, Teresa Weatherspoon, Charles "Chuck" Cooper, Al Attles, Paul Westphal, Bobby Jones, Bill Fitch, and Carl Braun will be inducted in September as the Class of 2019, the institution announced Saturday.
Cooper and Braun are being honored posthumously.
Eight of the 12 inductees played in the NBA: Divac, Sikma, Moncrief, Westphal, Attles, Jones, Braun, and Cooper - the latter was the first African-American to be drafted by an NBA team, the Boston Celtics, in 1950. Fitch didn't play but was a two-time Coach of the Year and led the Celtics to the NBA championship in 1980-81.
Two teams will also be honored: the Tennessee A&I (now Tennessee State) men's teams from 1957 to 1959 - the first college sides to win three consecutive championships - and the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens, which won 131 straight games from 1953 to 1958.
Among some of the finalists to miss out on induction this year are Chris Webber and Ben Wallace. Webber has been named a finalist for three consecutive years but has yet to earn enough votes for enshrinement. Wallace was a first-time finalist this year.
The Class of 2019 will be officially enshrined on Sept. 6 in Springfield, Mass.