Former Duke men’s basketball player Grant Hill will be the commencement speaker for the Class of 2025, Duke announced in a video Monday evening during the men’s basketball game against Wake Forest University.
Hill, Trinity ‘94 and a current member of the Board of Trustees, is recognized as one of college basketball’s all-time greatest players. He played on the Duke men’s basketball team during its first two championship runs in 1991 and 1992.
“I am thrilled that Grant Hill will address the Class of 2025 in May,” President Vincent Price said in a Duke Today release. “He is an extraordinary leader who has excelled in athletics, broadcasting and business.”
Among his many career highlights, Hill delivered the iconic pass to Christian Laettner for “The Shot,” when Laettner beat the buzzer to defeat Kentucky and advance the Blue Devils to the Final Four in 1992.
Hill’s jersey, No. 33, is retired and on display in the rafters of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Duke basketball legend was selected third overall in the 1994 National Basketball Association Draft by the Detroit Pistons. Throughout his career in the pros where he played for three additional franchises, Hill was a seven-time NBA All-Star and three-time NBA Sportsmanship Award recipient. He won the 1995 Rookie of the Year award alongside Jason Kidd.
Hill also played on the gold-medal-winning 1996 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team alongside legendary players including Scottie Pippen and Shaquille O’Neal. Hill was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Since retiring from the NBA after 19 seasons, Hill has become a part-owner of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, Major League Soccer’s Orlando City S.C. and National Women’s Soccer League’s Orlando Pride. Most recently, he became a member of an ownership group that purchased Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles alongside prominent Duke philanthropist and alumnus David Rubenstein, Trinity ’70. Hill has also worked as a college basketball broadcaster for a number of networks, including CBS Sports.
The commencement speaker is also one of the five campaign ambassadors overseeing the University’s “Made for This” comprehensive fundraising campaign, announced last week.
“I’m confident that his perspectives and insights will inspire and motivate our graduates as they celebrate their achievements at Duke and embark on the next phase of their lives,” Price said.
The Class of 2025’s commencement ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. May 11 in Wallace Wade Stadium. The ceremony will mark the conclusion of Duke’s Centennial celebration and the 100th anniversary of the University’s first graduating class.
The previous commencement speaker for the Class of 2024 was actor and comedian Jerry Seinfeld.
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Michael Austin is a Trinity junior and managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.
Abby Spiller is a Trinity junior and editor-in-chief of The Chronicle's 120th volume.