David Stern added to Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame class

FILE – In this Aug. 7, 2014, file photo, David Stern, a member of the 2014 class of inductees into the Basketball Hall of Fame, listens to a question during a news conference in Springfield, Mass. A tribute to late NBA Commissioner Stern is to be held at New York’s Radio City on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Late NBA Commissioner David Stern has been added to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction class.

Commissioner of the NBA from 1984-2014, Stern was Instrumental in the founding of the WNBA and a longtime supporter of the women’s game. He died Jan. 1 at age 77 a few weeks after a brain hemorrhage.

The enshrinement of the Class of 2020 has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic until next year. The ceremony will be held on June 12, 2021.

Joining Stern in the class that was selected by the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Directors are Tamika Catchings, Swin Cash and Lauren Jackson. The other members of the class are veteran player Debbie Brock and contributors Carol Callan, Sue Donohoe and Carol Stiff.

The 1980 U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team, which did not get to compete in the Ompics because of the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Games, also will be honored as the Trailblazers of the Game.

Stern previously was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the International Basketball Hall of Fame.