Donnie Walsh, a longtime member of the Indiana Pacers front office, is a nominee for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2017.
The Hall of Fame announced the long list of nominees Wednesday corresponding with the 125th anniversary since Dr. James Naismith invented basketball.
Clippers assistant coach Sam Cassell talks with Donnie Walsh.
Walsh’s name was among the contributor committee nominees. George McGinnis, the only Pacer with his name + number in the rafters but not in the Hall of Fame, was a nominee by the veterans committee — as were local products Dick and Tom Van Arsdale.
Walsh, who first joined the Pacers in 1984 and would later become general manager through the 2007-08 season. After a three-year run as GM for the New York Knicks, Walsh resigned on June 2, 2011 and returned to the Pacers a year later, holding down the fort at President while Larry Bird took a one-year sabbatical.
Upon Bird’s return on June 27, 2013, Walsh remained on staff as a consultant. He comes to work each weekday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The entire Class of 2017, including those selected by the direct elect committees, will be unveiled on Monday, April 3rd at the Men’s NCAA Final Four in Phoenix, Arizona.
Enshrinement festivities will take place September 7-9 in Springfield, Massachusetts at the home of the Hall of Fame.