Basketball Hall of Fame 2015 Inductees Announced: Induction Ceremony of 11 New Members

Friday night, September 11, 2015, the basketball community celebrated the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and introduced the class of 2015. During the indcution ceremony, 11 inductees were honored. Check out the list below.

College basketball coach John Calipari couldn't have been a Hall of Famer based on his own ability: "I never grabbed a rebound," he said. "I never scored a point. I never had an assist."

According to ESPN, he's had some incredible players, from Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, who solidified a powerhouse at Kentucky to Marcus Camby, who helped Calipari build a program at Massachusetts, Calipari was backed by dozens of players who helped make him one of college basketball's most successful coaches.

Other members of the basketball community who were commemorated on Friday were former NBA stars Spencer Haywood, Jo Jo White and Dikembe Mutombo. Along with women's basketball great Lisa Leslie and referee Dick Bavetta. After being enshrined as a player, Tom Heinsohn was inducted as a coach in this year's Hall of Fame. Other former coaches, such as George Raveling and Australia's Lindsay Gaze were also enshrined. And lastly, ABA star Louis Dampier and early African-American player John Isaacs were also a part of this year's Hall of Fame class.

According to Bleacher Report, not only was Mutombo an 8-time All-Star, as he played with the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, but he also finished as the second-greatest shot-blocker in NBA history. The only other NBA player who made more blocks than Mutumbo was Hakeem Olajuwon who totaled 3,830 blocks, while Mutombo totaled 3,289.

Mutumbo is not only proud of being the third African to play in the NBA and become a part of NBA history, "to come to the U.S. with nothing and now I'm part of the NBA history," but he's a proud humanitarian as well. He opened a hospital in his homeland of Congo, where 140,000 people have been served. Mutumbo also won the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, twice. He now works for the league as a global ambassador.

"Playing basketball allowed me to become a global citizen," Mutombo said, and although he's never won a championship, he's still "a champion to so many people."

Here's a look at Mutumbo's Hall of Fame career:

We look back at @officialMutombo's Hall of Fame career as he is enshrined into the @HoopHall! #HOF2015 https://t.co/gIS27EOfjM

— NBA (@NBA) September 11, 2015

 You can check out the rest of the ceremony recap over at Bleacher Report.