Jordan leads candidates for Hall of Fame

PHOENIX, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Michael Jordan, who helped the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships, is among 16 finalists to be considered for the 2009 class of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Jordan along with fellow NBA stars David Robinson and John Stockton are joined by Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan and former WNBA star Cynthia Cooper in their first year of consideration for the Hall of Fame.

Other finalists are former players Chris Mullin, Bernard King, Dennis Johnson and Richie Guerin; NBA Coach Don Nelson; NBA contributor Al Attles; legendary high school coach Bob Hurley Sr.; women's college coach C. Vivian Stringer; contributor Johnny "Red" Kerr, and international candidates Vladimir Kondrashin and Pereira Maciel Ubiratan.

The Class of 2009 will be announced April 6 in Detroit prior to the NCAA Men's Division I championship game. A candidate needs 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Enshrinement festivities in Springfield, Mass., are scheduled for Sept. 10-12.