Times’ Heisler to Receive Award at Hall of Fame

Mark Heisler, a longtime sportswriter for The Times, was selected as this year’s recipient of the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

The award is given annually to a print journalist and an electronic media figure who have made significant contributions to the game.

Past winners include late Lakers announcer Chick Hearn, broadcasters Marv Albert and Dick Vitale, and writers Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe and Jack McCallum of Sports Illustrated.

Heisler will receive his award at a Hall of Fame ceremony on Sept. 7 in Springfield.

Heisler, 62, began his career covering the NBA in 1969 as a 76ers beat reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

He joined the Times in 1979 and has covered the NBA for the last 16 seasons.

His insightful columns and his coverage of the Lakers, including the Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant championship era, plus the Clippers, as well as UCLA men’s basketball, have won the plaudits of readers. Heisler has covered 28 NBA Finals and 17 All-Star games.

He has written several basketball books, including: “The Lives of Riley,” a Pat Riley biography; “Madmen’s Ball” on the Lakers; “Bob Knight, The Unauthorized Biography” with co-author Steve Delsohn; and “They Shoot Coaches, Don’t They?” about UCLA.