Steve Nash and Rick Welts elected to the Hall of Fame

There are very few accomplishments in the basketball world as special as being inducted into the Hall of Fame. And this year two special and talented people will be entering the Hall, while under payroll with the Golden State Warriors.

The Hall of Fame officially announced that Warriors’ President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts, and Player Development Consultant Steve Nash will be joining the hallowed group of basketball legends.

They form part of 13-person class that includes, among others, former Bay Area great Jason Kidd, NBA stars Ray Allen and Grant Hill, and WNBA legend Tina Thompson.

While this is surely a memorable moment for Welts and Nash, it isn’t at all surprising. The former has spent more than 40 years around the league, and his accomplishments are too many to count. Among other things, he created All-Star Weekend, played an instrumental role in launching the WNBA, and helped break down barriers by becoming the first openly gay executive in any major American sport.

Oh, and he helped bring two rings to the Warriors, which goes a long way in my book. If you want to see just how remarkable Welts’ career has been, in addition to how great of a person he is, Steve Kerr penned a congratulatory letter to his friend and coworker for The Athletic. It’s a must-read.

For Nash, the Hall of Fame has been a foregone conclusion for quite some time. The former superstar was a two-time league MVP, an eight-time All-Star, and a seven-time member of the All-NBA team. He is, quite simply, one of the best basketball players of all time.

Upon the announcement of this outstanding achievement, Kerr and Stephen Curry took the time to publicly congratulate Welts and Nash, through a video on the Warriors’ Twitter page (which will, presumably, be shown at a game some time).

Congratulations to Welts and Nash for some of the strongest contributions in basketball history. Here’s to many more years of making an impact on the sport.