Springfield, Mass. -- The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame located in Springfield, Massachusetts -the birthplace of basketball - will receive a new item to its extensive collection of basketball memorabilia. A 296 page book entitled Sports Illustrated - The Basketball Book will make its way to the archives of the Hall of Fame when SI makes an official donation of the hard covered volume.

Highlighted by dozens of photographs, including items currently on exhibit in the Basketball Hall of Fame, the book captures the great teams, players, games, memorabilia and artifacts throughout the 100 years of Basketball History from its inception by inventor Dr. James Naismith in 1891 to those players and contributors who still inspire today. Sports Illustrated will also make a donation of over 300 copies that the museum will send to each living Hall of Fame member. Class members include Bob Cousy, Charles Barkley, Don Haskins, Bill Russell, Pat Summit, Bill Sharman, Phil Jackson, and Magic Johnson to name a few.

"We are excited to be able to send such a powerful book about the history of the game to every class member of the Hall of Fame, thanks to Sports Illustrated" said Hall of Fame President and CEO, John L. Doleva. "This museum is dedicated to the preservation of the game of basketball at every level - high school, collegiate, professional and international - both men and women. This book is a reflection of our mission".

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opened in 1959 and has since honored over 300 players, coaches, referees, team and contributors of the game. Today the new state-of-the-art museum is over 80,000 square feet featuring 900 exhibits, hands-on attractions and interactive exhibits.

"This book will be archived among some of the most precious and reserved items in the history of the game", added Doleva.

The Basketball Book is available for purchase on www.SI.com/thebasketballbook. The Basketball Hall of Fame is open daily.

Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame promotes and preserves the game of basketball at every level - professional, collegiate, men and women. For more information on these and other upcoming events, please visit our website at www.hoophall.com or call 1-877-4-HOOPLA.

About Sports Illustrated
SI is a multimedia sports brand that takes the consumer into the heart and soul of sports. The SI franchise is anchored by Sports Illustrated, the most respected voice in sports journalism which reaches a weekly audience of nearly 21 million adults, and www.SI.COM, the magazine's 24/7 sports news website that delivers more than 150 original stories to its users each week. The SI franchise also includes Sports Illustrated KIDS (www.sikids.com), a monthly magazine targeted to kids age 8 and up; GOLF MAGAZINE and www.GOLF.COM; www.FANNATION.COM, a social networking and sports news aggregation platform; www.SIONCAMPUS.COM, a website dedicated to college sports and the college sports lifestyle; SI PRESENTS the magazine's specialty publishing division; as well as SI BOOKS, SI PICTURES, SI PRODUCTIONS, SI DIGITAL and SI EVENTS. Founded in 1954, SI is a division of Time Inc., the world's leading magazine publishing company and a subsidiary of Time Warner.