Hall of Fame Inductees
2026 Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Induction
Lafayette “Fat” Lever was one of the NBA’s most versatile guards of the 1980s, a relentless all-around performer who filled every column on the stat sheet. After beginning with the Portland Trail Blazers, he blossomed with the Denver Nuggets and became the engine of their high-octane offense. A premier triple-double threat, Lever recorded 43 in his career and nearly averaged one during his peak seasons, including a standout 1988–89 campaign with 19.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game.
A two-time All-Star and a 1988 All-Defensive Second Team selection, Lever combined scoring, rebounding, playmaking, and defense at an elite level. He later added veteran leadership with the Dallas Mavericks. Fat retired with over 15,000 points, 6,000 rebounds, and 6,000 assists, numbers that reflect his rare versatility and lasting impact as one of the game’s original triple-double stars.
Arizona Sports Hall of Fame 2020 Inductees
PHIL MICKELSON
After winning three individual NCAA Men’s Golf championships at Arizona State and leading the Sun Devils to the 1990 NCAA team title, Mickelson embarked on one of the sport’s most successful careers. At 20, he became one of the few amateurs to win a PGA Tour event when he won the 1991 Northern Telecom Open in Tucson. Mickelson’s personality and daring play won legions of followers. Mickelson, known as “Lefty,” has won 44 PGA Tour events, including five major championships – three Masters, a PGA Championship and an Open Championship.
PAUL WESTPHAL
The No. 8 scorer in Phoenix Suns history, Westphal played a key role on the franchise’s two NBA Finals teams. He was a star guard on the underdog team that reached the 1976 NBA Finals and then coached the Suns to the 1993 NBA Finals. With his dazzling moves and elite skills, “Westy” won the hearts of the first generation of Suns fans, and his No. 44 was retired by the team in 1989. After the Suns fell behind the Los Angeles Lakers two games to none in a best-of-five series in the 1993 playoffs, Westphal famously guaranteed that his team would rally to win the series – which it did, extending a run that ended in Game 6 of the Finals. Westphal also led Grand Canyon University to the 1988 NAIA national title. Westphal is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
ANN MEYERS DRYSDALE
A basketball pioneer, Ann Meyers Drysdale came to Phoenix as the General Manager of the Phoenix Mercury and Vice President of the Phoenix Suns. Meyers Drysdale played a role in all three of the Mercury’s WNBA titles. Meyers Drysdale now serves the Mercury and Suns as a Vice President and broadcaster. Meyers Drysdale made history when she became the first woman to receive a Division I athletics scholarship, from UCLA. She became a four-time All-American and led the Bruins to their only women’s national title in 1978. Meyers Drysdale was the first draft pick of the Women’s Professional Basketball League, the nation’s first women’s pro league and a forerunner to the WNBA and earned co-MVP in 1979-80. She later became the first woman to sign an NBA contract, trying out for the Indiana Pacers in 1980.
JOE CALDWELL
Caldwell, nicknamed “Jumpin’ Joe,” set the career scoring record at ASU with 1,515 points (18.2 per game) and is the school’s No. 2 all-time rebounder with 929 (11.2 per game). Caldwell led the Sun Devils to the NCAA tournament in his three varsity seasons – 1962-64. Caldwell was team captain all three years and MVP in 1963 and 1964, and the school retired his No. 32 in 2010. He won a gold medal with the 1964 U.S. men’s basketball team in Tokyo. Caldwell spent six seasons in the NBA and five in the ABA, earning All-Star honors twice in each league.
ANDRE ETHIER
Ethier, a Phoenix native who graduated from St. Mary’s High School, is one of the great hitters in ASU’s storied baseball history. A career .371 hitter, Ethier earned All-Pac-10 honors in 2002 and 2003 and ended his Sun Devil career with a 23-game hitting streak. Ethier, an outfielder, was selected by Oakland in the second round of the 2003 MLB draft and went on to a 12-year career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, batting .285 with 162 home runs and 687 RBI.
ROLAND HEMOND
A three-time MLB Executive of the Year, the ageless Hemond is in his second tour of duty with the Arizona Diamondbacks as a special advisor to club President Derrick Hall. Known as the father of the Arizona Fall League, Hemond devoted his career to championing scouting and player development. In 2011, Hemond became the second person to receive the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame for “the profound impact he has had on the game, for his baseball intelligence as a keen talent evaluator and in building winning teams, to the universal respect he has earned for mentoring generations of baseball executives, past and present.”
JOHN BRIDGER
As Executive Director of the Thunderbirds for 18 years, Bridger oversaw the explosive growth of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, long the most-attended event on the PGA Tour. He also directed the day-to-day operations and the strategic plan of the Thunderbirds, who have used the golf tournament to raise tens of millions for Arizona charities. Bridger, who retired this year, is a native of Arkansas but grew up in Wellton, Ariz., and graduated from Northern Arizona University.
