The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield yesterday released the list of nominees for induction into the Class of 2026. Among those eligible there are Ettore Messina, in the “International” section for the third time, and Mike D’Antoni, in the “Contributors” section for the first time. D’Antoni was nominated as a contributor for his multiple roles as an international player and coach, and then as a coach in the “North American” section.
The nomination represents the first of three steps required for induction into the Hall of Fame in its original form. During the NBA All-Star Game in February, the finalists are generally identified after the second round of screenings, and in April, during the NCAA Final Four, the inductees will typically be announced for the ceremony which will be held on August 14th in Springfield.
Ettore Messina, 66, during his career has coached Virtus Bologna, Benetton Treviso, CSKA Moscow, Real Madrid, and Olimpia Milano, as well as the Italian national team. He has been named EuroLeague Coach of the Year twice (2006 and 2008), Italy Coach of the Year five times, and has won the EuroLeague four times, the Italian championship seven times (three in Milan), the Russian title six times, the VTB League three times, the Italian Cup nine times (twice in Milan), the Russian Cup twice, the Super Cup four times (three in Milan), and led his team to the EuroLeague Final Four 12 times, including the 2021 Final Four with Milan. He was also an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers for one season and the San Antonio Spurs for five. He also won the European silver medal in 1997 with the Italian national team. He is a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame.
Mike D’Antoni, 74, played at Marshall University, then played 180 games in the NBA and ABA before coming to Italy in 1977 to play for Olimpia. He retired in 1990, never leaving the club with which he won five league titles, two European Cups, one Intercontinental Cup, one Korac Cup, and two Italian Cups. As a coach, he won another Korac Cup with Olimpia, which he coached from 1990 to 1994. After moving to Treviso, he won two more league titles as a coach. In the NBA, he coached the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Houston Rockets. He was named NBA Coach of the Year twice, won 672 NBA regular season games and 54 NBA playoffs games. He was named Coach of the Month ten times.
Five Olimpia alumni are member of the Naismith Hall of Fame: Bill Bradley (European Champion with Olimpia in 1966), Bob McAdoo (European Champion in 1987 and 1988, two-time Italian Champion), Cesare Rubini (15 league titles, one European Cup, two Cup Winners’ Cups), Sandro Gamba (10 league titles as a player) and Dino Meneghin (two European titles, five league titles).
