INDIANAPOLIS – Illinois State men's basketball legend Doug Collins has been elected to the 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, announced at the Men's Basketball Final Four in Phoenix on Saturday morning.
Collins is joined in the 2024 Hall of Fame class by 12 others including: Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Seimone Augustus, Bo Ryan, Michael Cooper, Walter Davis, Charles Smith, Dick Barnett, Harley Redin, Michele Timms, Jerry West, and Herb Simon.
Collins remains the most decorated athlete in Illinois State history. The three-time All-American and 1972 Olympic Team member holds Illinois State records in career scoring (2,240), season scoring (847), career field goals made (894), and season field goals made (352). He had nine career 40-point scoring games over his ISU career, including the second- and third-highest scoring games in program history. He scored in double-figures in all 77 of his career games. The floor at CEFCU Arena was re-named "Doug Collins Court" on February 3, 2007. Because of his stellar play, he was the No. 1 pick in the 1973 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.
He had also received the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach/broadcaster, Collins' versatile career in basketball is marked by significant achievements in roles ranging from player to coach to broadcaster, underscoring his wide-ranging impact on the sport. Following an NBA career where he was a four-time All-Star with the Philadelphia 76ers, he transitioned into coaching and accumulated over 400 wins with the Chicago Bulls (1986-89), Detroit Pistons (1995-98), Washington Wizards (2001-03), and 76ers (2010-13).
Collins, who coached Hall of Famer Michael Jordan in both Chicago and Washington, also served as an analyst for various NBA-related broadcasts for CBS, NBC, TNT, TBS, and ABC/ESPN, along with working for NBC at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.
The Class of 2024 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Mass., on August 16-17. Collins becomes the 15th inductee from a school in the Missouri Valley Conference, including: Coach Dr. Forrest C. (Phog) Allen (Kansas, 1959 Class), Coach Walter Meanwell (Missouri, 1959 Class), Ed Macauley (St. Louis, 1960 Class), Bob Kurland (Oklahoma State, 1961 Class), Coach Henry "Hank" Iba (Oklahoma State, 1968 Class), Coach Eddie Hickey (Creighton and Saint Louis, 1978 Class), Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati, 1979 Class), Wes Unseld (Louisville, 1988 Class), Coach Ralph Miller (Wichita State, 1988 Class), Coach Denny Crum (Louisville, 1994 Class), Larry Bird (Indiana State, 1998 Class), Chet Walker (Bradley, 2012 Class), Nolan Richardson (2014 Class), Maurice Cheeks (West Texas State, 2018 Class).
Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was born, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to promoting, preserving, and celebrating the game of basketball at every level – men and women, amateur and professional players, coaches, and contributors, both domestically and internationally.Â
The Hall of Fame museum is home to more than 400 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Nearly 200,000 people visit the Hall of Fame museum each year to learn about the game, experience the interactive exhibits and test their skills on the Jerry Colangelo "Court of Dreams." Best known for its annual marquee Enshrinement Ceremony honoring the game's elite, the Hall of Fame also operates over 70 high school and collegiate competitions annually throughout the country and abroad.Â
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