Lindsay Whalen chooses Suns’ Charles Barkley as Hall of Fame presenter

Point Guard Lindsay Whalen is getting inducted into Pro Basketball Hall of Fame Saturday and will have legendary Phoenix Suns forward Charles Barkley be one of her presenters at the ceremony.

Whalen is the current head coach of the Minnesota Gophers women’s basketball team, her alma mater, and chose Barkley because he was her favorite player as she actually grew up a fan of the Suns as a young girl.

“When it came time to pick, I said I was going to go big or go home and ask Charles,” Whalen told reporters Friday. “He got back to me about a day later.”

Whalen is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and was the WNBA’s all-time leader in wins (323) after playing 15 seasons in the league until she was passed by Sue Bird in June.

She averaged 11.5 points per game, 4.9 assists and 3.8 rebounds on her way to five All-Star Game appearances and four championships.

Each Hall of Fame inductee is required to pick a minimum of two current hall of famers for the ceremony.

Whalen chose fellow PG and South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley as her second presenter.

The Minnesota head coach reportedly got in contact with Barkley because the general manager of the Gophers went to Auburn, where Barkley played college ball, and was able to get his number, according to Sports Illustrated’s Joe Nelson.

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