Steve Nash, Ray Allen among Basketball Hall of Fame finalists

New York, February 18: The NBA announced the 2018 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame finalists during the All-Star break, with Steve Nash and Ray Allen among an impressive list of names.

Grant Hill, Jason Kidd, Chris Webber, Maurice Cheeks were also named on Saturday (February 17).

Charles 'Lefty' Driesell, Rudy Tomjanovich and Baylor's Kim Mulkey made the final ballot as coaches. Katie Smith, Tina Thompson and long-time NBA official Hugh Evans are also finalists.

"To be named a Finalist for the Basketball Hall of Fame is an incredible distinction and we are proud to honour those who have made a tremendous impact on the game over the years," Jerry Colangelo, Chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, said, via NBA.com.

Congratulations to 7x @NBAAllStar, @NBA Co-Rookie of the Year and 2x NCAA Champion #18HoopClass finalist @realgranthill33! pic.twitter.com/f4BBsnKpAm

— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) February 17, 2018

"The Honours Committee now has the challenging task of selecting this year's Enshrinees, which we look forward to announcing at the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio."

Finalists must receive 18 votes from the 24-member honours committee to be enshrined in the hall of fame.

The Class of 2018 will be announced on March 31 at a news conference in San Antonio prior to the NCAA Men's Final Four.

Source: OPTA