Vlade Divac is leading off the festivities at the Basketball Hall of Fame's 2019 enshrinement ceremonies.
The Yugoslav and Los Angeles Lakers star was the first to be inducted on Friday night at Springfield's Symphony Hall. He would be joined later by Jack Sikma, Sidney Moncrief, Paul Westphal, Bobby Jones, Al Attles and Teresa Weatherspoon.
Chuck Cooper and Carl Braun were inducted posthumously and Bill Fitch was unable to attend for health reasons.
Class of 2019 inductees Al Attles, left, and Vlade Divac, right, laugh during a news conference at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, in Springfield, Mass. (AP PhotoJessica Hill)
Divac was one of the first Europeans to star in the NBA, playing seven seasons with the Lakers and six with the Sacramento Kings. He was presented by Jerry West, the Lakers executive who drafted him. West, who was inducted in 1980, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Thursday.
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Class of 2019 inductees into the Basketball Hall of Fame, from left to right, Chuck Cooper III, accepting on behalf of his late father Chuck Cooper, Susan Braun, accepting on behalf of her later father Carl Braun, Al Attles,Vlade Divac, Ron Coville accepting on behalf of his father-in-law, Bill Fitch, Bobby Jones, Sidney Moncrief, Jack Sikma, Dick Barnett for Tennessee A&I, Linda Price for Wayland Baptist, Teresa Weatherspoon, and Paul Westphal, pose for a photo during a news conference at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, in Springfield, Mass. (AP PhotoJessica Hill)