OLYMPIC TEAM 2OO8 : US HONOURS

NEW YORK : US 2008 Olympic team bags honour. Bryant, James plus high - leaping Carter first-time Basketball Hall nominees.

The US 2008 Olympic gold medal squad featuring Kobe Bryant and LeBron James plus high-leaping Vince Carter were among the first-time nominees for the Basketball Hall of Fame announced recently.

The Hall announced its list of eligible candidates for the Class of 2024, which will be unveiled on April 6 at Phoenix, Arizona, and enshrined on August 17 at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Thursday marked the anniversary of the day when Dr. James Naismith first introduced the game of basketball in Springfield in 1891.

Other first-time nominees included four-time Women's NBA champion and three time US Olympic champion Seimone Augustus, two-time NBA champion center Bill Laimbeer, 16-season NBA head coach and television commentator Mike Pratello and Australian Olympians Andrew Gaze, Penny Michele Timms.

The Hall of Fame announced changes to its election process to give more careful examination to candidates from the veterans, contributors and international committees. [AFP]