SALT LAKE CITY (AFP) — Retired National Basketball Association stars Dwyane Wade, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki were among 12 finalists named on Friday for 2023 induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

The international superstar foursome and Gregg Popovich, a five-time NBA champion coach with the San Antonio Spurs, were all first-time nominees to join the game's all-time greats.

Other finalists named by the women's and North American committees at the NBA All-Star festivities in Salt Lake City, Utah, included six-time Women's NBA All-Star Becky Hammon, 1996 Olympic champion Jennifer Azzi and long-time US college coaches Gene Keady, Gene Bess, David Hixon, Gary Blair and Marian Washington.

The 2023 group to be inducted, including those from direct-elect committees, will be announced on April 1 in Houston with the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony on 12 August at Springfield, Massachusetts.

In all, 11 of the 12 were finalists for the first time, but especially notable was the NBA talent nominated for the first time.

"It's a loaded class," Hall of Fame chairman Jerry Colangelo said. "This is unique in that we have a lot of first-time people.

"It's unusual when somebody makes it on the first ballot but this is going to be that unique a class because there could be four or five first-timers. We're excited."

It will be hard to ignore the global greats who were inspired by the 1992 US Olympic "Dream Team" of NBA icons who rolled to gold in Barcelona.