"It's nice that the guy that doesn't seek any recognition got some," Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor said.

Sloan will be enshrined in September along with former Jazz star John Stockton, whose election to the Hall of Fame was reported by the Tribune on Friday night.

Sloan will join Stockton in the Class of 2009, one of the greatest in the Hall's history. Michael Jordan, David Robinson and Rutgers women's coach C. Vivian Stringer also reportedly have been selected.

Although he flew home to McLeansboro, Ill., to attend the funeral Saturday of his 80-year-old brother, Buck, Sloan spoke earlier this week about the possibility of being chosen for the Hall, calling it a "tremendous honor."

"I've been fortunate to have a job that they've stuck with me through the good times and the bad times," said Sloan, the longest tenured coach in American professional sports. "It's just a matter of longevity as much as anything."

Even without an NBA championship or a Coach of the Year award, Sloan was elected to the Hall in his first year as a finalist. With a 1,135-747 record, Sloan has the fourth-most wins in NBA history behind Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson and Pat Riley.

His 1,041 victories in 21 seasons with the Jazz are by far the most with a single team, with Boston's Red Auerbach second with 795. Most impressively, the Jazz have had only one losing season in two decades with Sloan as coach.

Sloan gave credit to his assistant coaches and players -- "I've never felt like it was about me," he said -- but saved his greatest praise for late Jazz owner Larry Miller for standing by him. The NBA has seen 227 coaching changes during Sloan's years in Utah.

"People don't understand how important that is in this business," Sloan said. "I guess that's the thing I appreciate the most when it's all said and done is to still be in the same spot."

There have been 81 coaches inducted into the Hall, with Sloan and Stringer set to add to the list. Sloan never has visited the Hall, but his college coach at Evansville, Arad McCutchan, was inducted in 1981.

Sloan also welcomed the opportunity to share the honor with Stockton, calling his former point guard "the epitome of what Basketball is about and what winning was about and how he went about it every single day."

"It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to coach a guy like him," Sloan added.

Sloan and Stockton were two of the Hall's 16 finalists and needed to receive 18 votes from a 24-member committee to be selected. "From a franchise standpoint, it's certainly a coach and a player that led us to great success for a long period of time," O'Connor said.

Sloan said he never looked at himself as a Hall of Famer despite his accomplishments and joked about this season's many milestones. "That means you don't have much time left," Sloan said. "You're playing on a short rope."

He observed his 67th birthday last weekend and already has agreed to a one-year extension to return for the 2009-10 season. Sloan said the day-to-day challenges are what have kept him in coaching for so long.

"It's like your kids to a certain extent," Sloan said. "They have tough times, but can they fight out of it or are they just going to go curl up in a corner and feel sorry for themselves, like the world's mistreated them?"

Along with Sloan, Nelson and Bobby Hurley, from St. Anthony's (N.J.) High, were fellow coaching finalists for the Hall. Johnny "Red" Kerr, who coached Sloan on the expansion Chicago Bulls, was a finalist as a contributor.

Karl Malone will be eligible for the Hall next year, but Sloan said there had been no talk of deferring so he, Stockton and Malone could be inducted together. The Class of 2009 officially will be announced Monday at the Final Four in Detroit and inducted in September.

rsiler@sltrib.com Alt Heads:

Sloan elected to Basketball Hall of Fame Jerry Sloan by the numbers

? 1,135-747 record in 24 seasons. Fourth-most victories all-time behind Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson and Pat Riley.

? 1,041-626 record in 21 seasons with the Jazz. First coach in NBA history to win 1,000 games with one team.

? Two NBA Finals appearances, 16 consecutive playoff appearances, 12 50-win seasons, seven division titles and only one losing season.

? There have been 227 coaching changes in the NBA during Sloan's tenure in Utah. He has coached 123 different players with the Jazz. Stats Jerry Sloan trivia

Real winner ? Sloan is the fourth winningest coach in NBA history.

Trend setter ? First coach in NBA history to win 1,000 games with one team.

Leader of the pack ? There have been 227 coaching changes in the NBA during Sloan's tenure in Utah.