The New York City Basketball Hall of Fame celebrates over 125 years of basketball history in the city and recognizes and honors the best basketball players, coaches, referees, promoters and contributors in the history of the sport in New York.
Candidates for the hall are nominated for the honor by the public and chosen annually by a select committee consisting of Hall of Famers, media personalities, former players and coaches.
The governing body of the hall was most recently appointed by their peers in July 2025 for a two-year term.
History The New York City Basketball Hall of Fame's inaugural class was inducted in September 1990. The hall's first class included all-time basketball superstars Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Billy Cunningham, Coach Arnold “Red” Auerbach, Coach Claire Bee, Bob Cousy, William “Pop” Gates, Connie Hawkins, Coach Dick McGuire, Holcombe Rucker, Adolph Schayes and Ms. Zelda Spoelstra.
The second class included: Dolly King, Fuzzy Levane, Ned Irish, Tiny Archibald, Bobby Wanzer, Bob Douglas and Coaches Red Sarachek, Lenny Wilkins, Nat Holman and Red Holtzman.
A total of twenty eight classes of inductees were enshrined between 1990 and 2017 by the founders Robert A. "Bob" Williams, Howard "Garf" Garfinkel, Cecil Watkins, Tom Konchalski, Larry "Scout" Pearlstein, Bill Travers, and Howie Evans. As of March 2026, the only remaining founder was sports columnist Peter Vecsey (Class of 2001).
The New York City Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2024 was inducted on September 19 of 2024 before a sell-out crowd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The New York City Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 was inducted in a sold-out gala on February 24, 2026.
Inductees Listed by induction year
1990
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Billy Cunningham Red Auerbach Clair Bee Bob Cousy Pop Gates Connie Hawkins Dick McGuire Holcombe Rucker Dolph Schayes Zelda Spoelstra
1991
Nate "Tiny" Archibald Bob Douglas Nat Holman Red Holzman Ned Irish Dolly King Andrew "Fuzzy' Levane Bernard "Red" Sarachek Bobby Wanzer Lenny Wilkens
1992
Jack "Dutch" Garfinkel Marty Glickman Sihugo "Si" Green Richie Guerin Sidney "Sonny" Hertzberg John Isaacs Joe Lapchick Frank McGuire Willis Reed Satch Sanders
1993 Roger Brown Lou Carnesecca Tony Jackson Leonard Lewin Nancy Liberman-Cline Jim McMillian Jammy Moskowitz John Nucatola Sid Tannenbaum Max Zaslofsky '38-'39 James Madison Championship Team
1994 Norm Drucker Mickey Fisher Ernie Grunfeld Bernard King Bobby McDermott Al McGuire Claude "Red" Phillips Cal Ramsey Ossie Schechtman ‘49-50 CCNY Championship Team 1995 Al Badain Arlington "Ollie" Edinboro Bernie Fliegel Charles Scott Alan Seiden ‘69-70 NBA Championship New York Knicks 1996 Marv Albert Jerry Fleishman Rudy La Russo Howard Cann Donnie Forman Julius Erving Vinnie Johnson The N.Y. Renaissance 1997 Harry Boykoff World B. Free Kevin Loughery Lou Rossini Cecil Watkins Milton Kutsher St. John's Wonder Five 1998 Mel Davis Ray Lumpp Dean Meminger Doug Moe Irv Torgoff Frank Layden Bill Spiegel Charles "Doc" Turner 1999 John Goldner Hy Gotkin Carl Green Sidney Green Howard Jones Kevin Joyce Tom Stith Jim Valvano
2000 Rolando Blackman Ralph Kaplowitz John Condon Jack Donohue Lucille Kyvallos Jack McMahon Kenny Smith Brian Winters Power Memorial HS. ‘63-64 2001 Dan Buckley Jack DeFares Mike Dunleavy Len Elmore Tom Hemans Mac Kinsbruner Jim McDermott Peter Vecsey
2002 Fred Crawford Larry Fleischer Charlie Hoxie Albert King Chris Mullin Mark Reiner Solly Walker 2003 Ed Conlin Floyd Layne Alfred "Butch" Lee John Roche Danny Lynch Richard "Chink" Gaines 1959-60 Boys High Team 2004 LeRoy Ellis James "Buck" Freeman John Lee George Kaftan Malik Sealy Emilio "Zeke" Sinicola Herb Turetzky 1972–73 Queens College Team 2005 John Bach Jack Curran Lou Eisenstein Clarence "Puggy" Bell Vern Fleming Lenny Rosenbluth Willie Rubenstein Dwayne "Pearl" Washington The Original Celtics Team 2006 Stacey Arceneaux George Gregory Jamal Mashburn Nevil "Butch" Shed Willie Cager Mark Jackson Rick Pitino Mickey Crowley Tommy Kearns John "Honey" Russell Willie Worsley 2007 Burt Beagle Walter Berry Al Bianchi Bobby Cremins Mario Elie Ed Pinckney Hank Rosenstein Bob Wolff 2008 Kenny Anderson Louis "LuLu" Bender Pete Gillen Joe Goldstein Bob McCullough Sam Perkins Rod Strickland Eddie Younger 2009 John Andariese John Crawford Armond Hill John Kresse Gail Marquis Spencer Ross John Salley Bill Schaeffer Sam Schoenfeld 2010 George Johnson Teddy Jones Barney Sedran Anthony Mason Joe Mullaney Isaac "Rab" Walthour Phil Sellers George Kalinsky 2011 Ken Charles Jim Larrañaga Donnie Walsh Sonny Dove Debbie Mason John Warren Tom Henderson Mike Saunders 2012 Dick Bavetta Don Goldstein Ricky Sobers Ray Felix Jack Kaiser Charlie Yelverton Charles Granby Connie Simmons 2013 Vaughn Harper Don Kennedy Hank Whitney Jerry Harkness Manny Sokal Lee Jones George Thompson 2014 Craig "Speedy" Claxton Hugh Evans Mike Riordan Felipe Lopez Jack Rohan Charlie Davis Tom Owens Christ the King Regional High School 1993 team 2015 Mike Davis Geoff Huston Bob McKillop Willie Hall Richard Lapchick Sam Worthen Chamique Holdsclaw Johnny Mathis 2016 Gus Alfieri Howard Garfinkel Sam Stith Steve Burtt Olden Polynice Jayson Williams Jim Couch Jerry Reinsdorf Willie Worsley
2017 Ron Behagen Jackie Jackson Steve Lappas Larry Lembo Anne Gregory O’Connellhttps://news.fordham.edu/athletics/anne-gregory-oconnell-recognized-as-atlantic-10-trailblazer/ Lamar Odom Kevin Stacom Robert A. Williams
2018-2023 No activity
2024 Tina Charles Lauren Cargill Jonathan Halpert Gil Reynolds Joe Hammond Raymond Delmau Ronnie Nunn Tom Konchalski Jack Powers Charley Rosen
2025 Sue Bird Stephon Marbury Richard "Peewee" Kirkland Ron Naclerio Mo Hicks Shelly Schneider Chuck Stogel John Paquette NYU Women 2024/NYU Women 2025https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-women/article/2025-03-23/nyu-wins-2025-ncaa-diii-womens-basketball-championship 2024 New York Liberty
See also Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
References
External links Legendary high school scout Tom Konchalski dies at 74 Honoring legendary H.S. hoops scout Tom Konchalski as he battles cancer The New York City Basketball Hall of Fame NYC Basketball Hall of Fame set to welcome newest class New York City Basketball Hall Of Fame Induction This Week NYC Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony moved to Bryant Park Grill MBB: “Speedy” Claxton Inducted Into NYC Basketball Hall Of Fame Howard Garfinkel, colorful broker of basketball talent, dies at 86 Five-Star camp founder Howard Garfinkel dies at 86 His Basketball Camp Made Hall of Famers. Now He's One, Too. Robert A. Williams, pro basketball player, Bronx activist, 77 Cecil Watkins: A Great Friend of the Game A Legend Passes: Cecil K. Watkins The World According to Garf Five-Star: The Art of Camping ESPN: Pearl Washington to lead '05 NYC hoops hall class