INDIANAPOLIS – The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the recipients of the 2024 Curt Gowdy Media Award and John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award at NBA All-Star Weekend.
Renowned analyst and play-by-play commentator Debbie Antonelli, former Los Angeles Times and ESPN columnist J.A. Adande, “NBA Inside Stuff,” and Dennis Page of SLAM Magazine are the 2024 Curt Gowdy Media Award recipients. March Madness executive JoAn Scott is the recipient of the 2024 John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award.
Congratulations to 2024 Curt Gowdy Transformative Media Award recipient, NBA Inside Stuff. #GowdyAward pic.twitter.com/LpkXvdYdqU
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) February 16, 2024
The Curt Gowdy Media Award is named in honor of the late Curt Gowdy, a legendary sports broadcaster and former Hall of Fame Board member and President. This prestigious award is presented to members of the print, electronic, and transformative media whose efforts have made a significant contribution to the game of basketball.
The Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award was instituted by the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Board of Trustees in 1973 and is the most prestigious award presented by the Hall of Fame outside of Enshrinement. Named in honor of Hall of Famer John W. Bunn (Class of 1964), the first chairman of the Basketball Hall of Fame Committee who served from 1949-64, the award honors coaches, players, and contributors whose outstanding accomplishments have impacted the high school, college, professional, and/or the international game.
Antonelli, Adande, “NBA Inside Stuff,” SLAM, and Scott will be acknowledged for their contributions to basketball during the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend on August 16-17.
For further details, including ticket information, visit hoophall.com/events/enshrinement-2024.
Curt Gowdy Electronic Media Award Recipient: Debbie Antonelli
Debbie Antonelli began her renowned broadcast career in 1987 and has called women’s and men’s basketball games for ESPN, ACC Network, Longhorn Network, and SEC Network, as well as CBS Sports, Fox Sports, RAYCOM Sports, Big Ten Network, NBA TV, and Westwood One. She has also served as a WNBA analyst with the Indiana Fever and Charlotte Sting. In 2017, she became the first female in 21 years to call an NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament game and has occupied the role for Turner Sports and CBS ever since. Antonelli, a three-year starter at North Carolina State, is a two-time Emmy Award winner and Gracie Award recipient for broadcast and was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022 and the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.
Off the court, Antonelli is a lifetime member of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund Board of Directors, a contributor to the Special Olympics, and a co-founder of the Frankie and Friends anti-bullying campaign.
Curt Gowdy Print Media Award Recipient: J.A. Adande
J.A. Adande has been a trusted voice in sports for over two decades, covering major events such as the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, Olympics, and the NCAA Final Four. His career began at the Chicago Sun-Times as the Chicago Bulls completed their first three-peat, continued on to The Washington Post, and soon became a fixture in the Los Angeles Times sports section for 10 years (1997-2007) before he joined ESPN in 2007. There, he worked as an NBA sideline reporter and has been a panelist on “Around the Horn” since the show’s debut in 2002. In 2021, he co-hosted the “Beyond the Last Dance” podcast with former Bull B.J. Armstrong and the “Kobe, LeBron, and the Redeem Team” podcast with fellow Curt Gowdy Award winner Jack McCallum.
In 2017, J.A. became the Director of Sports Journalism at Northwestern’s Medill School, his alma mater.
Curt Gowdy Transformative Media Award Recipient: “NBA Inside Stuff”
The Transformative Media Award honors an individual or organization that has dramatically changed the format, presentation, or enjoyment of the coverage of basketball through the use of traditional and emerging media. This Award recognizes those who have had a significant, fresh, and lasting impact on the format, content generation, fan enjoyment, and understanding of the game, as demonstrated by “NBA Inside Stuff,” featuring Ahmad Rashad and Willow Bay.
“NBA Inside Stuff,” produced by NBA Entertainment and aired on NBC, debuted in 1990 and was one of the most influential sports shows in the history of television. Delivering a weekly 30-minute mix of music, highlights, pop culture, news, and unprecedented player and team access, “NBA Inside Stuff,” along with NBA on NBC broadcasts, catapulted the league to new heights in the ‘90s.
The show’s hosts, Ahmad Rashad and Willow Bay, masterfully set the energetic (and hip) tone. Their on-air chemistry and connection with the players resonated with the Saturday morning audience, a groundbreaking programming move for a sports league. The show was so popular that it spawned many media properties focusing on the intersection of sports, music, and pop culture.
Popular weekly staples in this personality-driven show included “Rewind” (Rashad’s weekly recap of league action); “Jam Session” (an upbeat fusion of highlights and popular music); and behind-the-scenes player and team features. The result was a weekly must-watch pulse of the league destination.
“NBA Inside Stuff” aired on NBC for 12 seasons (1990-2002) before moving to ABC (2002-06).
Curt Gowdy Transformative Media Award Recipient: SLAM Magazine/Dennis Page
Dennis Page, a notable figure in the world of sports media, is the founder and original publisher of SLAM Magazine. The ground-breaking publication has provided a unique and bold perspective on basketball culture, personalities, and stories, establishing itself as a pivotal platform for delivering in-depth coverage of basketball and showcasing the relationship between sports and lifestyle. The Trenton, New Jersey, native served as publisher for Guitar World before playing a crucial role in shaping SLAM’s inception and success. It was his original concept of a “hip hop magazine about basketball” that he transformed into a reality, spearheading the process that led to the publication of the inaugural edition of SLAM in May 1994. Known for its iconic covers, SLAM has produced over 200 editions over the years, each contributing to its legacy as a pivotal source for basketball enthusiasts seeking a deeper understanding of the game and its cultural impact.
John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient – JoAn Scott
JoAn Scott has been an admired businesswoman in the basketball landscape for almost four decades, beginning in 1987 when she started at USA Basketball. Scott worked at USA Basketball from 1987-96, culminating as the director of basketball operations from 1992-96. During that time, she was a staff administrator for the original Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics, as well as the United States’ 1996 Olympic team.
Scott then spent the next 17 years at Nike (1996-2013), where she had key roles in the 2002 FIBA World Basketball Championship and the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games. During her tenure at Nike, she managed and fostered relationships between the company and many universities.
After serving as the managing director of men’s basketball championships for the last 11 years, Scott has ascended to vice president of men’s basketball now with oversight of the Division I, II, and III Men’s Basketball Championships, the National Invitation Tournament, and the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Academy. Scott also manages the NCAA Championships Engagement Unit, which supports corporate partner activations, branding, marketing, fan events, and game presentations for all NCAA championships.
Previous Curt Gowdy Media Award Recipients:
Year – Print/Electronic/Transformative/Insight
1990 – Dick Herbert/Curt Gowdy
1991 – Dave Dorr/Marty Glickman
1992 – Sam Goldaper/Chick Hearn
1993 – Leonard Lewin/Johnny Most
1994 – Leonard Koppett/Cawood Ledford
1995 – Bob Hammel/Dick Enberg
1996 – Bob Hentzen/Billy Packer
1997 – Bob Ryan/Marv Albert
1998 – Larry Donald & Dick Weiss/Dick Vitale
1999 – Smith Barrier/Bob Costas
2000 – Dave Kindred/Hubie Brown
2001 – Curry Kirkpatrick/Dick Stockton
2002 – Jim O’Connell/Jim Nantz
2003 – Sid Hartman/Hot Rod Hundley
2004 – Phil Jasner/Max Falkenstien
2005 – Jack McCallum/Bill Campbell
2006 – Mark Heisler/Bill Raftery
2007 – Malcolm Moran/Al McCoy
2008 – David DuPree/Bob Wolff
2009 – Peter Vecsey/Doug Collins
2010 – Jackie MacMullan/Joe Tait
2011 – Alexander Wolff/Jim Durham
2012 – Sam Smith/Bill Schonely
2013 – John Feinstein/Eddie Doucette
2014 – Joe Gilmartin/John Andariese
2015 – Rich Clarkson/Woody Durham
2016 – David Aldridge/Jay Bilas
2017 – Harvey Araton/Craig Sager
2018 – Andy Bernstein/Doris Burke
2019 – Marc Stein/Ralph Lawler
2020 – Michael Wilbon/Mike Breen/Inside the NBA/Jim Gray
2021 – Mel Greenberg/Mike Gorman/George Kalinsky
2022 – M.A. Voepel/Walt Frazier/Dick Ebersol
2023 – Holly Rowe/Marc Spears/CBS Sport
Previous John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients:
1973 – John Bunn
1974 – John Wooden
1975 – J. Walter Kennedy
1976 – Henry P. Iba
1977 – Clifford B. Fagan
1978 – Curt Gowdy
1979 – Eddie Gottlieb
1980 – Arnold “Red” Auerbach
1981 – Ray Meyer
1982 – Daniel Biasone
1983 – Robert J. Cousy
1984 – Lawrence F. O’Brien
1985 – Lee Williams
1986 – Grady W. Lewis
1987 – David R. Gavitt
1988 – Haskell Hillyard
1989 – George E. Killian
1990 – Pat Head Summitt
1991 – Morgan B. Wootten
1992 – Will Robinson
1993 – Joe Vancisin
1994 – William Wall
1995 – Pete Carlesimo
1996 – Vic Bubas
1997 – C.M. Newton
1998 – Tex Winter
1999 – The Harlem Globetrotters
2000 – Meadowlark Lemon
2001 – Tom Jernstedt
2002 – Harvey Pollack
2003 – Joe O’Brien
2004 – Zelda Spoelstra
2005 – Marty Blake
2006 – Betty Jaynes
2007 – Thomas “Satch” Sanders
2008 – Val Ackerman
2009 – Johnny “Red” Kerr
2010 – Don Meyer
2011 – Brian McIntyre
2012 – Pat Williams
2013 – George Raveling
2014 – Alvin Attles
2015 – Rod Thorn
2016 – Jim Delany
2017 – Michael Goldberg
2017 – Donald “Dee” Rowe
2018 – Harley Redin & Jim Host
2019 – Del Harris & Harry Glickman
2020 – Timothy Nugent
2022 – Reggie Minton
2023 – Tom Konchalski
