On Saturday, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2024. Seimone Augustus, Michele Timms, Harley Redin and Michael Cooper are the inductees who have impacted the world of women’s basketball. The induction ceremony will take place in August in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Augustus was drafted No. 1 overall in 2006 by the Minnesota Lynx out of LSU and played in the WNBA for 16 seasons. She spent most of her career with the Lynx, winning championships in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. She spent her final season with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2020.
Augustus received several awards during her career, including 2011 WNBA Finals MVP and 2006 Rookie of the Year. She was named to six All-WNBA teams, eight WNBA All-Star teams, and the WNBA 20th and 25th anniversary teams.
After retiring from the WNBA in 2021, Augustus spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the Sparks. The Lynx retired her jersey in May 2022, and a statue of her was unveiled on the LSU campus the following year.
Timms played five seasons with the Phoenix Mercury from 1997 to 2001 and was named an All-Star in 1999. Before coming to the United States, she played for Lotus München in Germany in the 1989-90 season, which made her the first Australian (male or female) to play professional basketball outside the country.
Timms also represented the Australian national team in two Olympics and won bronze and silver medals in 1996 and 2000, respectively. The Mercury retired her jersey in 2002.
Redin was the head coach for Wayland Baptist University from 1955 to 1973, compiling a record of 431-66. He led his team, known as the Flying Queens, to consecutive undefeated seasons in 1956 and 1957. He also coached the U.S. national team in events including the 1963 World Tournament and the 1971 Pan-American Games.
In addition, Redin was part of the AAU Rules Committee that pushed for several modern rule changes, including using a 30-second shot clock and allowing women to play full court. He will be inducted posthumously.
Cooper will be inducted for his career as an NBA player, but he was a longtime WNBA coach as well. He spent nine seasons with the Sparks as an assistant coach (1999) and head coach (2000-04, 2007-09) and four seasons with the Atlanta Dream as head coach (2014-17). He led the Sparks to back-to-back WNBA championships in 2001 and 2002 and compiled a record of 388-230 during his coaching career. He was named WNBA Coach of the Year in 2000.
The 2023 Naismith Hall of Fame class included Becky Hammon, Gary Blair and the 1976 U.S. Olympic team.
