2023 Class of FIBA Hall of Fame: Valerie Garnier

MIES (Switzerland) - Former France Coach Valerie Garnier is being inducted to the FIBA Hall of Fame in recognition of her achievements both with the national team and also at the club level. 

Garnier is best known for holding the coaching reins of the French women's side for eight years and delivering a total of five podium finishes.

Four of those came in the shape of consecutive silver medals at the FIBA Women's EuroBasket in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021. France came so close on a number of occasions to landing the title but were undone twice by Serbia and twice by Spain. She was also Assistant Coach in 2013, when it was also the second podium step.

Meanwhile, in what proved to be her last tournament at the helm in 2021, Garnier masterminded a bronze medal for France at the Tokyo Olympics - their first in almost a decade as they beat Serbia to gain revenge for their FIBA Women's EuroBasket Final defeat less than two months earlier. 

With her club teams, Garnier took Tango Bourges Basket to their first-ever FIBA EuroCup Women title when they lifted the silverware in 2016 - made all the more special that they accomplished the feat on their home floor. It was a typically fruitful period for the French powerhouse, with the playcaller also overseeing two French Cups and three French Championship titles. 

Moving on to pick up the coaching reins in Istanbul for juggernauts Fenerbahce, Garnier also won the Turkish Cup and two Turkish Championships. She also regularly coached in the prestigious EuroLeague Women and most recently has been coaching men's side at Tours Metropole Basket.

In terms of individual honors, the prestige in which Garnier is held can be underlined by the fact that she has been handed a string of awards, including the Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur in 2013, the French Basketball Federation 'Coq d’argent' in 2016, the FFBB Robert Busnel - Yvan Mainini Trophy in 2021 and the Officier de la Legion d'Honneur last year. 

She is being enshrined in the Class of 2023 with fellow coach Alessandro Gamba (Italy). The list also includes an array of legendary players - Amaya Valdemoro (Spain), Yuko Oga (Japan), Katrina McClain (USA), Wlamir Marques (Brazil), Yao Ming (China), Sonny Hendrawan (Indonesia), Angelo Monteiro dos Santos Victoriano (Angola); with both Carlos Loyzaga (Philippines) and Zurab Sakandelidze (Georgia) being inducted posthumously.  

FIBA