One of Australia’s most revered and successful coaches of all-time, Tom Maher was announced amongst 12 basketball icons selected for the FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2021. Maher was recognised by FIBA for his illustrious coaching career to date, which has seen him coach at six consecutive Olympics since 1996, claiming a silver and bronze medal with the Australian Opals. In celebrating of the news, Basketball Australia Chair Ned Coten said: “On behalf of Basketball Australia, I would like to congratulate Tom Maher on this outstanding and richly deserved recognition. “Tom is a trailblazer, who has played a leading role in putting Australian women’s basketball on the global map. Through his mentorship, he has also helped shaped the careers of those he coached or coached with, further strengthening his legacy. “In terms of achievements both at home and abroad, Tom is one of Australian basketball’s most successful figures and it’s wonderful to see his significant contribution acknowledged by FIBA with his induction into the Hall of Fame.” The star-studded 2021 FIBA Hall of Fame Class also features 1992 Olympic gold medalist coach Chuck Daly; three-time FIBA AfroBasket winner Mathieu Faye (Senegal); Olympian and FIBA EuroBasket champion Panagiotis Giannakis (Greece); FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup runner-up and FIBA Women's EuroBasket champion Hana Horakova (Czech Republic); five-time Czechoslovakian League champion and FIBA EuroBasket runner-up Stanislav Kropilak (Slovakia); Four-time EuroLeague champion, six-time Italian League champion and six-time Russian League champion Ettore Messina (Italy); leading scorer of the 1956 Olympics for bronze medal winners Uruguay Oscar Moglia (Uruguay - posthumously); three-time NBA All-Star Detlef Schrempf (Germany); Olympic silver and bronze medalist Penka Stoyanova (Bulgaria - posthumously); Olympic gold medalist and world champion Sergey Tarakanov (Russia); and Olympic silver and bronze medalist Haixia Zheng (China). As a member of Basketball Australia Hall of Fame (inducted 2006), Tom Maher was the first coach to lead Australia to a senior basketball medal of any colour and coached the Opals at two Olympic Games and two World Championships. Maher is recognised as the most successful coach in the history of the WNBL, winning six championships and two Coach of the Year awards (1987, 1992). He also became the first foreign coach in the WNBA, paving the way for Australian coaches in leagues around the world. Tom Maher – Coaching Career Highlights
- Coached in four FIBA World Championships (Australia 1994, Australia 1998, China 2006 & 2014)
- Olympic Games bronze medalist (Australia 1996)
- Six successive Olympic Games with four countries: Australia, New Zealand, China & Great Britain (Australia 1996 & 2000, New Zealand 2004, China 2008, Great Britain 2012, China 2016)
- FIBA World Championship bronze medalist (1998)
- Olympic Games silver medalist (Australia 2000)
- Asian Championship gold medalist (China 2005)
- Coached in four Asian Championships (China 2005, 2006, 2013 & 2015)
- Asian Games gold medalist (China 2006)
- Asian Championship bronze medalist (China 2013)
- Asian Games silver medalist (China 2014)
- Asian Championship silver medalist (China 2015)
The Class of 2021 will be enshrined into the FIBA Hall of Fame during a digital ceremony on June 18, together with the Class of 2020. The FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2021 was announced on March 30. About The FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame is a shrine dedicated to the amazing people who built the foundations of the global sport of basketball since its birth until its accomplished glory of today. It strives to be a genuinely international institution, active in the promotion and remembrance of basketball all over the world and houses the great men and women who were proactive and outstanding in the improvement and development of our sport. Created in 2007, it assembles over 100 outstanding players and coaches from 33 countries and all five continents to date. Its home is the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland.
