George Karl Joins Basketball Immortals On Saturday Night

On Saturday night, George Karl will join the elite of the elite in the basketball world.

The former University of North Carolina guard (UNC '73) and longtime NBA coach will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., becoming the 12th Tar Heel to be enshrined.

He will join his former head coach, Dean Smith, as well as Larry Brown (coach), Ben Carnevale (coach) Billy Cunningham (player/coach), Bobby Jones, Michael Jordan, Bob McAdoo, Frank McGuire (coach), Charlie Scott, Roy Williams (coach) and James Worthy as Tar Heels in the Hall.

Karl was a longtime professional coach who has the sixth-most wins of any head coach in NBA history with 1,175 (and a winning percentage of .588) after beginning his career in the CBA. Williams (Naismith Hall of Fame Class of 2007) will present Karl for induction, along with Karl's former Carolina teammate, Jones (HOF Class of 2019), and Gary Payton (HOF Class of 2013), who played for Karl with the Seattle Supersonics.

Cunningham (HOF class of 1986) will present Larry Costello posthumously for induction. Cunningham and Costello were teammates, along with Wilt Chamblerlain, among others, with the 1967 NBA champion Philadelphia 76ers.

Members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2022 were asked to select previous inductees to accompany and present them to their peers. The choice is solely the decision of the incoming Hall of Famers, or their family members if recognized posthumously.

This year's class includes nine honorees from the North American and Women's committees: two-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA champion Manu Ginobili, five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, two-time NCAA National Coach of the Year Bob Huggins,the NBA's sixth-winningest coach of all-time Karl and longtime NBA referee Hugh Evans. On the women's side, the Hall of Fame is proud to welcome five-time WNBA All-Star, three-time WNBA Champion, and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Lindsay Whalen,four-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Swin Cash and NCAA national champion and WNBA Coach of the Year Marianne Stanley.

Distinguished committees focused on preserving all areas from the game also selected eight directly elected enshrinees. They include Lou Hudson from the Veterans Committee, Larry Costello and Del Harris from the Contributor Committee, Theresa Shank-Grentzfrom the Women's Veterans Committee, Radivoj Korac from the International Committee, and Wyatt "Sonny" Boswell, Inman Jackson, and Albert "Runt" Pullins from the Early African American Pioneers Committee.

The 2022 Hall of Fame Inductees and Presenters:

Tim Hardaway, presented by Isiah Thomas ('00), Mitch Richmond ('14), Chris Mullin ('11), Yolanda Griffith ('21), Nate Archibald ('91)

Manu Ginobili, presented by Tim Duncan ('20)

Lindsay Whalen, presented by Dawn Staley ('13), Charles Barkley ('06)

Swin Cash, presented by Tamika Catchings ('20), Teresa Weatherspoon ('19), Tina Thompson ('18), Isiah Thomas ('00), Geno Auriemma ('06)

Bob Huggins, presented by Jerry West ('80), Rod Thorn ('18)

George Karl, presented by Roy Williams ('07), Gary Payton ('13), Bobby Jones ('19)

Marianne Stanley, presented by Cathy Rush ('08), Lisa Leslie ('15), Nancy Lieberman ('96)

Hugh Evans, presented by Reggie Miller ('12), George Gervin ('96)

Theresa Shank-Grentz, presented by Cathy Rush ('08), Charles Barkley ('06), Vivian Stringer ('09)

Del Harris, presented by Nancy Lieberman ('96), John Calipari ('15), Sidney Moncrief ('19)

Lou Hudson, presented by Spencer Haywood ('15), Jamaal Wilkes ('12)

Larry Costello, presented by Billy Cunningham ('86), Wayne Embry ('99), Bob Dandridge ('21)

Radivoj Korac, presented by Spencer Haywood ('15)

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University of North Carolina Athletics

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