Manu Ginobili, key cog in the reign of the San Antonio Spurs, leads the list of first-time nominees for the Naismith Hall of Fame category

Manu Ginobili leads the list of first-time nominees for the 2022 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, announced live on ESPN’s NBA Today on Tuesday.

Ginobili is the mainstay of San Antonio Spurs‘dynasty, won four championships along with an Olympic gold medal with Argentina in 2004. The 57th time selected in the 1999 NBA draft, Ginobili went on to become one of the outstanding international basketball players. Best of all time, an innovative defender with a distinctive Style. He helped popularize Eurostep, a move used by virtually every player in the game today.

In addition to Ginobili, other first-time nominees include Tom Chambers, a four-time All-Star striker who played with six teams, including five seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics and Phoenix Suns, and Lindsay Whalen, a four-time WNBA champion and five-time All-Star, with all four of those championships going to the Minnesota Lynx. She is currently a coach at the University of Minnesota.

In addition to the first-time nominees, others in this Hall of Fame category of nominees:

• Chauncey Billups, 5-time All-Star and 3-time All-NBA, who was Finals MVP as NBA Champion in 2004 Detroit Pistons.

• Richard Hamilton, three-time All-Star and member of the 2004 champion Pistons.

• Shawn Marion, four-time All-Star Champion and a member of the 2011 NBA Championships Dallas Mavericks.

• Tim Hardaway, 5-time NBA All-Star and 5-time All-NBA champion.

• Muggsy Bogues, a 14-year NBA veteran, was the youngest player to ever play in the league at 5 foot-3 years old.

• Mark Jackson, All-Star in 1989, is one of only six players to score 10,000 assists in his career.

• Swin Cash, who won two NCAA championships at UConn and three other championships with WNBA’s Detroit Shock and Seattle Storm.

• Becky Hammon, six-time WNBA All-Star and four-time All-WNBA pick.

• George Karl, the all-time sixth in NBA coach wins with 1,175.

• Bob Huggins, one of only six college coaches with 900 or more career wins.

The Naismith Hall of Fame rank will be announced during the Final Four in New Orleans in early April, and players will be inducted September 9-10, 2022, in Springfield, Massachusetts.