Cal’s Jason Kidd, Santa Clara’s Steve Nash among 13 headed to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Oakland’s Kidd, Santa Clara alum Nash, Warriors executive Welts part of 13-member class to be inducted in September
SAN ANTONIO >> Jason Kidd was an Oakland hoops prodigy ticketed for superstardom from childhood. Steve Nash was an unsung Canadian kid who got one significant U.S. basketball scholarship offer.
After parallel careers that first crossed during college workouts a quarter-century ago, two of the best point guards of their generation are thrilled to be headed into the Basketball Hall of Fame together.
“It’s even more special when it’s with him, and with so many people you respect,” Nash said.
Nash, Kidd and Rick Welts — the Warriors’ current president and chief marketing officer — are among the 13-member Hall of Fame class that will be inducted in September.
The class also includes Grant Hill, Ray Allen, Maurice Cheeks, Tina Thompson, coach Lefty Driesell, Charlie Scott, NBA executive Rod Thorn, Katie Smith, the late Ora Mae Washington and Croatian star Dino Radja.
Most of the inductees appeared together before the Final Four semifinals in San Antonio, beginning the five-month stretch of togetherness before the ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts.
But Nash and Kidd have been linked since their teenage years for more than their sublime playmaking skills, and they’ve both provided assists to each other along the way.
They played nearly two seasons together with the Phoenix Suns from late 1996 to 1998, but their bond began in the Bay Area during their famed group workouts while Nash was at Santa Clara and Kidd was at Cal.
“He kept pushing me, and hopefully I pushed him to become a better player,” Kidd said. “Steve was always early, and he was always the last to leave, and he never gets tired. So when you have a workout partner like that, it will only make you better.”
Nash went on to become a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and an eighttime All-Star, while Kidd, also a prep star at St. Joseph-Notre Dame High in Alameda, earned 10 AllStar selections and claimed a championship ring in Dallas in 2011.
After high school, Kidd enjoyed a standout twoyear career at Cal, propelling the Bears to back-toback NCAA tournament berths in 1993 and 1994.
As a freshman, Kidd had a school-record 110 steals to lead the nation, guiding Cal to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 33 years. Kidd helped the Bears beat LSU and defending champion Duke on his way to being named the National Freshman of the Year.
As a sophomore, Kidd posted a single-season school record of 272 assists, and his 204 career steals over those two seasons remain the most in program history. He was named the 1994 Pac-10 Player of the Year and a first team Associated Press All-America honor. Kidd declared for the NBA Draft following his sophomore season at Cal.
Nash was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year in both 1995 and 1996.
During Nash’s career, the Broncos had a 73-42 record, won WCC regular-season titles in 1995 and 1996, and made three NCAA Tournament appearances. Nash, who earned honorable mention All-America honors as a senior in 1995-96, helped Santa Clara claim its first national ranking since 1972-73 when the Broncos reached No. 25 in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls on Dec. 4, 1995.
Welts, the first openly gay NBA executive, has worked in several aspects of the game, including the launch of the WNBA. The former president of the Phoenix Suns, he became the Warriors’ president and chief of operations in 2011.
At 16, Welts began his NBA career as a ballboy for the former Seattle Supersonics. Nearly 49 years later, Welts’ expanded his résumé as a public relations director, a key member of the NBA’s league offices and the Warriors’ current president and chief marketing officer. He enters the Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor to the game.
“He took advantage of all the opportunities and just kept moving up in the game in the NBA,” said Hall-of-Fame NBA coach Lenny Wilkens, who coached the Supersonics’ lone NBA championship team in 1979. “To see where he is now and what he’s accomplished, we’re all very happy and very proud for him. He is just a great man.”
After his stint as a Supersonics ball-boy, Welts became the team’s director of public relations during consecutive NBA Finals appearances (1978-79) and the team’s lone NBA title run (1979). After working for a Seattle-based sports marketing firm from 198082, Welts joined the NBA’s league office.
During his 17-year tenure, Welts eventually became the league’s thirdranking official as the executive vice president, chief marketing officer and president of NBA properties. Welts oversaw departments that involved sponsorship, media relations and special events.
Following a short stint as the president of Fox Sports Enterprises (1999-2000), Welts then became the president and chief executive officer of the Phoenix Suns (2002-11) before he joined the Warriors.
“I think he always understood the big picture and knew that things take time and it was going to take a persistent effort to accomplish whatever his responsibilities were,” said Jack Sikma, a former Seattle Supersonics player (19771986). “There were no shortcuts. I think what’s really endearing about it is he embraced it. You never heard a complaint.”
Welts created the concept of NBA All-Star weekend in 1984, which morphed into a star-studded event that soon included the Slam Dunk Contest, the 3-point shootout, marketing events and the game itself. Welts also oversaw USA Basketball’s marketing program for the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team.” He also helped with marketing efforts during the WNBA’s launch in 1998.
“I don’t think he ever thought there were limits to what could be accomplished. He believed in the league and he was there during the time when there was an opportunity to make it a world-wide influence,” Sikma said. “You have to credit him a lot for the stabilization of the league and the switch from being a league known for negative stories to a league known for positive stories.”
Welts produced more positive stories for the NBA, including details about his own personal life.
In May, 2011, Welts became the highest ranking executive in men’s professional team sports to publicly announce he is gay. He has earned awards from organizations representing the gay and lesbian community. In 2015, Welts served as the celebrity Grand Marshall of San Francisco’s Pride Parade.
“It was great for the NBA and great for sports that someone in a prominent position had the courage to say at some point, ‘This is who I am,’ ” Walker said. “I don’t know anyone that had worked with him who had really cared other than what worrying about made Rick happy.”