Pao Gasol, Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki inductions make for historic Hall of Fame night

European basketball prowess took center stage as Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Dirk Nowitzki were part of the 2023 class inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is located in Springfield, Massachusetts early on Sunday.

Gasol began and ended his pro career in the EuroLeague with FC Barcelona while Parker is the current owner of EuroLeague club LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and Nowitzki hails from Germany. The trio won seven NBA titles between them and were chosen for a total of 26 NBA All-Star teams. On the international stage they combined for 17 Olympics, World Cup and EuroBasket medals as team leaders for Spain, France and Germany, respectively.

Inspired by pioneers

To add to the European flavor of the ceremony, Gasol chose as one of his presenters three-time EuroLeague champion Toni Kukoc and Parker did the same for former EuroLeague champion Manu Ginobili.

"Toni was a great player, heckuva player," Gasol said, addressing Kukoc in his Hall of Fame speech. "He inspired so many European players growing up. I looked up to you and you inspired me to follow your steps."

Gasol also thanked EuroLeague icon Juan Carlos Navarro, his long-time friend and a current FC Barcelona basketball executive, as well as the many Europeans who paved the way to NBA success, among them Kukoc.

"Being from where I am from, from Europe and Spain, I wanted to give a special mention to those first Europeans who came here, across the ocean, who took a chance and opened doors for players like myself: Fernando Martin -- the first Spanish player to ever play in the NBA – Drazen Petrovic; Sarunas Marciulionis, Detlef Schrempf, Arvydas Sabonis, Toni Kukoc, Vlade Divac, Dino Radjo, Rik Smits."

A historic night

The Hall of Fame class of 2023 also included Dwayne Wade, Becky Hammon and six coaches; Gregg Popovic, who coached both Parker and Gasol, as well as his fellow coaches Gene Bess, David Hixon, Gene Keady, Gary Blair and the late Jim Valvano.

At a press conference earlier in the weekend, Gasol summed up the historic nature of Saturday's ceremony, which saw more Europeans enter the hall at once than ever.

"For European basketball, I think this class is an incredible accomplishment; for international basketball, as well," he said. "I think the game has grown so much since we first started playing and came to the NBA. I think we can be proud of having taken the international game to a higher lever and I'm very proud of seeing how the present and current players are talking it to the next level. So, it's very special to share this moment with Dirk and Tony, because it's remarkable. It's just something that was unthinkable not too long ago. It's beautiful to show and share the message that things are possible, that things do change, things do improve, things are exciting and allow any kid, boy or girl, to dream."