Westphal, Fitch, ‘T-Spoon’ among Hall inductees
Paul Westphal, Sidney Moncrief, Vlade Divac, Bill Fitch and Teresa Weatherspoon were among the 12 inductees into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, it was announced Saturday.
Al Attles, Carl Braun, Chuck Cooper, Bobby Jones, Jack Sikma, the 1957-59 Tennessee A&I team and the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens were also inducted into the Class of 2019 during the announcement made at the NCAA Final Four in Minneapolis.
Westphal was a five-time All-Star and was named to the All-NBA first team in three seasons. He won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 1974 before helping the Phoenix Suns reach the NBA Finals in 1976. As a coach, he went 318-279 with a trip to the NBA Finals and two conference semifinals with the Suns.
One of the finest defensive guards in NBA history, Moncrief played 10 of his 11 seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, and he was a five-time All-Star and a two-time Defensive Player of the Year. He was a four-time second-team All-NBA player and a first-team All-NBA selection in 1982-83 before chronic knee problems shortened his career.
Divac, who was selected via the International Committee, is currently the general manager of the Sacramento Kings. He had a storied FIBA career in addition to playing 16 seasons in the NBA. He is one of seven NBA players with 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocked shots.
Cooper, the first African-American drafted in NBA history, was selected by the special direct-elect Early African-American Pioneers Committee.
The 82-year-old Attles, the Golden State Warriors patriarch and a former coach and guard, was chosen as a contributor. He has been dealing with health issues this NBA season and recently left the hospital and returned home to his Oakland residence.
Jones, a forward, was NBA All-Defensive first team eight times with the Philadelphia 76ers and twice was ABA All-Defensive first team. In 941 games between the NBA and ABA, he averaged 20.2 points, 10 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. He was a member of Philadelphia’s championship team in 1983.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated contributed to this report.