The 2018 class in the Basketball Hall of Fame is full of incredible players who did wonders for the game and our league. Their résumés are well documented and undoubtedly worthy. Two of the players, Steve Nash and Grant Hill, I worked with directly. I can’t muster high enough praise for them.

But I’m writing this letter for another inductee. One whose name won’t ring a bell for the average basketball fan, but whose impact on the game has been profound and lasting. He never played a minute in the league and never scored a basket, but he has been an integral part of the league’s wild success over the past four decades.

His induction into the Hall of Fame will bring joy to a lot of people in our NBA family. Not only because of what he has done. But because of who he is as a person and a friend.

I first met Rick Welts when I was being considered for the general manager job with the Phoenix Suns. I had been working in television for years but was intrigued by the opportunity in front of me, and Rick reached out. He was the president of business operations for the Suns, and we met in Cleveland during the 2007 playoffs at the Ritz-Carlton. I was there covering the Eastern Conference finals for TNT, while Rick was in town for NBA meetings.

Over a cocktail in the bar, Rick wowed me with a genuine blend of energy, humor and passion for his job, the Suns and the NBA. They are qualities that I have seen from him literally every day since, through three years working together with the Suns, to now four more with the Warriors. Anyone who knows Rick will tell you that his smile, his relentless energy, positivity and amazing spirit are traits that define him, because they are real and ever present. And as a result, people love to work with him.

We used to have staff meetings in Phoenix every Wednesday morning, where the department heads would gather in a conference room to discuss the week’s events, and we all looked forward to them. Rick brought out the best in everyone, encouraging dialogue and ideas, spreading credit, never seeking any, and bringing a genuine joy and humor to the room. There was a spirit that existed because Rick made everyone feel necessary and wanted, because ideas were important and we were a team, and we were going to accomplish great things together. It was a place you wanted to work, and Rick set the tone.

These qualities, in my mind, were the impetus behind so much of his success in the league. His résumé as a league executive is littered with highlights of innovation and creativity. Working in the league office, he created the NBA All-Star Weekend. He was the brain behind the marketing of “The Dream Team” and a key component in the branding and launching of the WNBA. He played a prominent role in establishing the international preseason games that helped globalize basketball and make the game so popular across the planet.

Wherever Rick goes, success seems to follow. That’s because he helps foster a culture that energizes a franchise and also impacts and intertwines the business side and the basketball side.

He was the public relations director for the Seattle SuperSonics when they made back-to-back appearances in the NBA Finals, winning it all in 1979. He was president of the Suns during their wonderful run in the Nash years. And while those teams were among the best in the league, the organization itself was widely respected for its innovation and energy under Rick’s care. And of course, his work with the Warriors has been the pinnacle of his career, helping to take a diamond-in-the-rough franchise and exposing its full potential, both on and off the court.

On the business side, Rick has overseen tremendous growth in marketing, media, ticket sales, community service and charitable services. And while there is no doubt that players like Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala have taken the franchise to unprecedented heights, it’s obvious to me that the combination of on-court talent and franchise ingenuity and leadership has made the Warriors one of the top franchises in the world, in any sport.

In fact, under Rick’s leadership, the Dubs have twice won the Sports Business Journal’s Team of the Year award and have been nominated two of the last three years for the Laureus World Team of the Year award. And of course, Rick has been in the pilot’s seat in the creation of the Chase Center, the downtown San Francisco arena that will be the home to the Warriors beginning in the 2019-20 season. A project like this is incredibly difficult to put together anywhere, but especially in San Francisco, given the many political hurdles. There’s no doubt in my mind that Rick, with his charisma, compassion, knowledge and political skill, was the perfect person for the job.

Rick also represents something much more important than basketball or business success, and that is social advancement. You see, Rick in 2011 became the first executive in any major American sport to announce that he was gay.

His announcement, which I know was difficult and courageous, has helped advance our country’s acceptance that sexual identity is actually unique to each person, and quite normal. There is a reason that the younger generation in our country is growing up with a much more progressive view on homosexuality and gender differences. It’s because people in every field have felt more and more comfortable sharing their stories in order to help others.

The more we realize that we are all just people, with our own identities and circumstances, and that we can all advance in any field no matter race, gender or sexual identity, the better off we all are. But it takes leaders, people in prominent jobs and high places, to help bring that awareness to the world. I am thankful to Rick for making that contribution.

I have been to the Hall of Fame many times, and what stands out is the array of wonderful stories of the inductees’ personal journeys. Yes, there is great memorabilia there, jerseys and photos and videos of the best players the world has ever seen. It’s a shrine, but also a museum. Visiting the Hall teaches you about the history of the game. But what I always walk away with is the idea that this wonderful game that we love has been shaped by people from all walks of life, from all over the world, in many different ways. What ties them all together is a love for the game.

Rick made his mark on basketball going from a young fan in Seattle to a Sonics ballboy to a team employee, to an executive in the league office, a leader of franchises, and finally to a man who has helped advance social justice in the world of sports.

Rick, congratulations on an incredible, well deserved honor. It’s a joy working with you every day and everyone with the Warriors is so proud of you.

Rick Welts, Hall of Famer. How cool is that?

(Top photo: Noah Graham/Getty Images)