Lindsay Whalen took a step toward the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, when the museum announced its candidates for the Class of 2022.
The Gophers women's basketball coach joined Manu Ginobili and Tom Chambers as first-time Hall nominees on a ballot that also includes previously nominated candidates such as Chauncey Billups and Swin Cash.
Whalen led the Gophers to the Women's Final Four as a player before winning four WNBA titles with the Lynx and two gold medals with Team USA in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. A six-time WNBA All-Star and three-time All-WNBA first-team selection, she is also the league's career leader in games won at 307. She averaged 11.5 points, 4.9 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game in her career with the Connecticut Sun an the Lynx.
The Hall of Fame finalists will be announced Feb. 18, during NBA all-star weekend, and the Class of 2022 will be unveiled in early April, during the NCAA Men's Final four in New Orleans. The enshrinement ceremony will be held Sept. 9-10, 2022 in Springfield, Mass.
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