South Carolina HC Dawn Staley cements her legacy on international stage with FIBA Hall of Fame nod

South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley is a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame as a part of the class of 2025. On Jan. 15 this year, Staley was announced as one of nine individuals who will be inducted into the international basketball hall of fame.

On Saturday, the 54-year-old was officially inducted into the Hall of Fame through a closed-doors enshrinement ceremony at the Bahrain National Theater in Manama, Bahrain. Staley joins 192 Hall of Famers across 45 countries since 2007 who are commemorated in the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland.

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Joining her in this year's illustrious class includes the likes of Alphonse Bilé (Côte d’Ivoire), Andrew Bogut (Australia), Leonor Borrell (Cuba), Pau Gasol (Spain), Ticha Penicheiro (Portugal) and Ratko Radovanovic (Serbia). Perhaps the most promiment of them for Staley is a fellow college basketball coach, Duke Blue Devils legendary tactician Mike Krzyzewski.

The FIBA International Hall of Fame nod adds to Staley's long list of accomplishments as both a player and coach. Her international basketball resume includes achivements being a three-time Olympics gold medalist and a two-time FIBA World Cup gold medalist as a player, along with one-time Olympic and FIBA World Cup gold medalist as a coach.

Dawn Staley is coming off of a 2024-25 season with the Gamecocks, who finished with an overall record of 35-4, 15-1 in SEC play. They were unsuccessful in their 2024 national championship defense, losing 82-59 to the UConn Huskies in the NCAA national title game on April 6.

Dawn Staley is also a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Coach Dawn Staley's FIBA Hall of Fame induction follows her being a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, joining as a part of the class of 2013. This is one of the highest nods any basketball player or coach can receive, given the criteria it has for induction and the list of personnel inducted into the Hall. Staley is now recognized in both prestigious Halls.

The tenured tactician has been successful both as a player and college basketball coach. She's a six-time WNBA All-Star, two-time USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year awardee and 1991 NCAA national tournament MOP as she looks for another national title hunt in the upcoming season.

About the author

Koby del Rosario is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda who took up BS in Advertising Management at De La Salle University, one of the big "four" universities in the Philippines. Koby has over four years of experience with Complex PH, M2.0 Communications, The LaSallian, Daily Tribune, and Time Attack Manila.

Koby's favorite college team would have to be the North Carolina Tar Heels. Apart from being MJ's alma mater, Koby has always been fond of the Jordan silhouettes that release in the school's colors (being a sneakerhead himself).

His past favorite college players would have to be Russell Westbrook (UCLA) and Markelle Fultz (Washington). With Russ, his 1-2 punch with Kevin Love during their UCLA days was something Koby marveled at as Russ became his favorite player to watch post-Kobe.

Besides playing basketball, Koby enjoys nightlife, collecting sneakers, and playing video games. Apart from hosting parties and taking pictures for parties/bars/clubs, Koby is learning to DJ as a hobby with all sorts of house and hip-hop as the main genres.

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Edited by Bhargav