Four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Dikembe Mutombo, Boston Celtic great Jo Jo White and veteran official Dick Bavetta are among those who are set to be enshrined at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend.

Joining Mutombo and White among players to be inducted are Spencer Haywood, ABA star Louis Dampier, John Isaacs and women's star Lisa Leslie. The Celtics' Tom Heinsohn will be inducted as coach, after already being enshrined as a player. He will be joined by fellow coaches George Raveling and Australia's Lindsay Gaze.

"I thank the Lord every day," White said during Thursday's press conference. "And I'm still here," said the speedy guard who is fresh off a surgery to remove a brain tumor.

Mutombo told of former NBA Commissioner David Stern pleading with him to stop his signature finger wagging after blocking shots. They eventually reached a compromise by allowing Mutombo to do the gesture toward the crowd instead.

The Congolese native now works as one of the league's global ambassadors. Mutombo joked that he took the job to recover some of the money he lost in fines over his 18-year career.

Bavetta, who came from refereeing games in the Eastern League, never missed an assignment during his 39 years in the NBA.

"I used to put the Weather Channel on, I'd see the blizzards in Minnesota and Detroit and Cleveland and Boston, and not worry about, "How am I going to get there?'" Bavetta said. "So it was a revelation this year, because travel was a killer."

White, who starred back in the 70s, had to wait for a long time for his induction, as he also had to battle with serious health problems before finally getting his call.

"I've been a big champion of his," Heinsohn said. "He should've been here a long time ago."

As noted by a Yahoo Sports report, White was the MVP of the 1976 Finals, where he played 60 of a possible 63 minutes of a triple-overtime game against the Phoenix Suns.

"I absolutely adored playing this game," White said.