Sawt Falasteen - Nowitzki, Bird among eight inductees into FIBA Hall of Fame

Alongside Nowitzki and Bird, Celine Dumerc, Hedo Turkoglu, Clarisse Machanguana, Wang Zhizhi, Ismenia Pauchard and coach Ludwik Mietta-Mikolajewicz were also inducted.

Nowitzki, the 2007 NBA MVP and 2011 NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks, thanked "special human being" Holger Geschwindner, his long-time coach and mentor.

"Harry Potter had Dumbledore, Alexander the Great had Aristotle, and I had Holger."

In a career played in the United States and Russia at club level, Bird won five Olympic gold medals and four World Championships with the US women's team.

Bird, who retired in 2022 aged 41, told reporters: "When you start playing as a kid, you're not thinking about fame, that's not the destination.

"But when you get here and you look back on your career, you can see what a ride it's been."

A rematch between 2022 champions the United States and runners-up China headlined the group-stage draw for the 2026 Women's World Cup, to be held in Berlin in September.

Italy and Czech Republic join the USA and China in Group D. In Group A, hosts Germany take on Euros runners-up Spain, Japan and Mali.

European champions Belgium face Asian champions Australia, Puerto Rico and Turkey.

France face African champions Nigeria, South Korea and Hungary.

Z.Ramadan--SF-PST