Czech basketball star Hana Horáková elected to international Hall of Fame

Hana Horáková, who was the captain of the Czech women’s national basketball team, will be inducted to the Hall of Fame of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) during an online ceremony on June 18.

Horáková, 41, will be the second Czech basketball player inducted in the FIBA Hall of Fame. In 2019, Jiří Zídek Sr., now aged 77, was inducted. In 2001, Zídek was named Best Czech Player of the 20th Century.

Horáková (née Machová) played with the national team that was second at the European basketball championship in 2003 and won it in 2005. She won the EuroLeague Women with the Czech team Brno in 2006.

At the FIBA World Championship for Women played in the Czech Republic in 2010, Horáková was named the most valuable player (MVP) and the Czech team finished second. She also won the award for the best player in women’s European basketball in the same year.

"The induction in the FIBA Hall of Fame is a great honor for me, even more with the names with whom I will be inducted. I am glad that it is not just about players but also about referees, coaches and people who are able to provide care for basketball. The game is so wonderful also thanks to them," Horáková said in a press release.

Slovak player Stanislav Kropilák, who was named the Czechoslovak men’s basketball player of the year five times, will also be one of 11 personalities induced in the FIBA Hall of Fame together with Horáková this summer.

"I have never imagined this and I even did not try to win such an award. When I looked at the people in the Hall of Fame, what the names there are, I felt so fantastic to be in their company. There are the best players in the world, I played against many of them on the club level or in the national team and many of them are my friends," Kropilák said.

During her playing career (1996-2013), Horáková won the Czech league ten times. In 2011, she won the Turkish league with Fenerbahce Istanbul. She was named the Czech women’s basketball player of the year in 2003 and 2004.

Apart from Brno, USK Prague, and Fenerbahce, Horáková played for the Russian club Ekaterinburg and the Slovak club Košice.