Welts' NBA career includes 18 years in the league office in addition to his work with the Suns and WarriorsBASKETBALL HALL OF FAME
Warriors President & COO RICK WELTS "will be inducted" into the Basketball HOF on Friday alongside a class that includes RAY ALLEN, MAURICE CHEEKS, LEFTY DRIESELL, GRANT HILL, JASON KIDD, STEVE NASH, DINO RADJA, CHARLIE SCOTT, KATIE SMITH, TINA THOMPSON, ROD THORN and ORA MAE WASHINGTON, according to Scott Hanson of the SEATTLE TIMES. Welts, 65, is entering in the contributor category after a "nearly 50-year career in the NBA." He "worked in the NBA’s league office" from '82-99, rising to Exec VP & CMO, the "No. 3-ranking league official." Welts is credited with "helping the NBA surge in popularity." He "created All-Star weekend, marketed the 1992 Dream Team and was instrumental in launching the WNBA." Welts became Suns President & CEO in '02 before leaving to become Warriors President in '11. For everything Welts has "done in basketball, perhaps his most meaningful moment" came in '11, when he was the "first executive of a major sports team to come out as gay." He received "thousands of emails and hundreds of handwritten letters of support and thanks." Welts said, “That’s the most important thing I will ever do” (SEATTLE TIMES, 9/7). In San Jose, Mark Medina noted Welts "will speak for about five minutes" during his HOF induction. NBA Commissioner Emeritus DAVID STERN, who will be one of Welts' presenters, said his role in the creation of the soon-to-be-home Chase Center is a “crowning achievement” and the "capstone of a spectacular career” (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 9/6).
CLASS HIGHLIGHTS: In Chicago, K.C. Johnson wrote under the header, "Rod Thorn Set To Enter Hall Of Fame With More Than Drafting Michael Jordan On His Resume." Thorn worked for 14 years as NBA Exec VP/Basketball Operations, and also "helped assemble the original Dream Team." Perhaps his "greatest achievement came when he took over" the Nets in '01 and earned "back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals while being named Executive of the Year by his peers" in '02 (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/6). In Columbus, Andrew Erickson wrote under the header, "Katie Smith Gets Chance To Reflect, Give Thanks In Her Hall Of Fame Induction." The induction "will be a celebration of a career Smith didn’t even know would be possible" as the ABL and WNBA "didn’t form until late in her college career" at Ohio State (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 9/6). In Baltimore, Don Markus notes Driesell, 86, and Scott, 69, "will be inducted together." The two "share their memories in a friendship -- and brief rivalry -- that dates more than 50 years" (BALTIMORE SUN, 9/7).
MEDIA RECOGNITION: In L.A., Tom Hoffarth noted the HOF on Thursday honored photographer ANDREW BERNSTEIN with the Curt Gowdy Award for print media excellence, recognizing "far more than just his decades of work as the Southern California-based official team photographer of the Lakers, Clippers, Sparks and other teams." Bernstein will be the "second photographer to be acknowledged with the media award." RICH CLARKSON, a "longtime NCAA game shooter," received the honor in '15 (L.A. TIMES, 9/4). ESPN's DORIS BURKE also received the Curt Gowdy Award, and in accepting the honor she "made a point of thanking players and coaches including LEBRON JAMES and STEVE KERR for encouraging her on the road to becoming a highly respected NBA analyst." Burke said, "The NBA is the single most inclusive, open-minded, progressive sports league in the country." Burke also "thanked past Big East Commissioners MIKE TRANGHESE and DAVE GAVITT for the opportunity to call men's and women's games" (ESPN.com, 9/7).
