The Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame announced the finalists on Tuesday to enter the 2021 promotion: there are nine former players and five coaches. The Class of 2021 will be announced on May 16 (that day will enter the 2020 promotion, postponed by the pandemic) and the ceremony date, which is scheduled for September, will be announced that same day. We review who’s who among the finalists.
Rick Adelman
He led NBA franchises for more than three decades and ended his career with a balance of 1,042 victories and 749 defeats (58.2%). Their teams played the playoffs in 16 of their 23 seasons and led the Portland Trail Blazers to two NBA Finals (1990 and 1992). Adelman is the ninth most victorious coach in history: in two seasons he reached 60 and in eleven, 50. He reached 200 wins in just 288 games, a record at the time. He participated three times in the All Star Game (1991, 2001 and 2003).
Chris Bosh
It was 11-time NBA All-Star (2006-2016) and two-time NBA Champion with Miami Heat (2012 and 2013). In 13 NBA seasons, he averaged 19.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. In college (Georgia Tech) he won the Rookie of the Year award in 2003 and in his freshman year in the NBA (Toronto Raptors) he was inducted into the rookie team. Bosh claimed Olympic gold in Beijing 2008.
Michael Cooper
Was cinco times NBA champion with the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988) and important for his defensive contribution to a team full of offensive talent. He was on the NBA defensive team five times (1982, 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988) and was named Best Defender in 1987. He played one season at Virtus Roma.
Tim Hardaway
Olympic gold in Sydney 2000, Hardaway played 13 NBA seasons and scored 15,373 points, averaging more than 20 points per game for four consecutive years. In 1997 he was in the ideal team of the season and is 18th in the history of assists (7,095).
Johnson brands
Five times all star (1979-81, 1983 and 1986), on the rookies team in 1978 and in the NBA in 1979, in 11 NBA seasons, he averaged 20.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. In 2013 he was inducted into the NCAA Hall of Fame.
Paul Pierce
NBA champion with the Celtics (2008) and Finals MVP. He played 19 seasons in the NBA, was an all-star 10 times and is 19th all-time in NBA scoring with 26,397 points. On his debut-year rookie squad, his number (34) has been retired by the Boston Celtics and the Kansas Jayhawks.
Bill Russell
He was the first black coach in NBA history. In his second season as a player-coach, Russell led the Boston Celtics to the NBA title, thus becoming the first African-American coach to win an NBA title. The following season, Russell would once again lead Boston to the Finals and to the NBA ring, his eleventh and final title. With the Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics and Sacramento Kings, he finished his career with a balance of 341-290 (0.54%). As a player-coach, Russell was appointed Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in 1968. Since 1975, Russell is already in the Hall of Fame, albeit as a player.
Ben Wallace
Four times Best NBA Defender (2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006), four times all star (2003-06) and NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons (2004). He was in the NBA defensive five times (2002-2006) and in the second team three times (2003, 2004 and 2006), while leading the NBA in rebounds (2002 and 2003) and in blocks (2002).
Chris Webber
Rookie of the year in 1994, was in the dream team of the season in 2001 and was five times all star (1997 and 2000-2003). He led the NBA in rebounds during the 1998-1999 season and averaged more than 20 points per game nine consecutive seasons (1994-2003). As a member of the “Fab Five,” Webber led the University of Michigan to the Final Four in 1992 and 1993.
Jay Wright
Twice Naismith National Coach (2006 and 2016), six-time Big East Conference Coach of the Year (2006, 2009, 2014-16 and 2019) and the first coach in NCAA history to led his team four seasons in a row to 30 wins. He led Villanova to two NCAA National Championships (2016 and 2018) and seven Big East Regular Season Championships (2006, 2014-17, 2019, 2020).
Leta Andrews
He has been a high school basketball coach for over 50 yearss and is the high school coach (male or female) who has won the most titles in the history of grassroots basketball.
Landa Griffith
Seven times all star of the WNBA (1999-2001, 2003, 2005-2007) and two Olympic golds (2000, 2004). Won the ring in 2005 with the Sacramento Monarchs, years after being the WNBA MVP and the Best Defender of the Year (1999). In 1999, Griffith won the WNBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, while leading the league in shooting from the field, rebounds, offensive rebounds, and steals per game. Griffith was named a member of the WNBA Team of the Decade in 2006 and among the top 20 players in history. of the League in 2016.
Lauren Jackson
Seven times all star (2001-2003, 2005-2007, 2009) and three times WNBA MVP (2003, 2007, 2010), the Australian won two rings with the Seattle Storm (2004 y 2010) y fHe was the MVP of the Finals in 2007. In 2007, Jackson was named Best Defender, while leading the league in rebounding and points. Like Griffith, Jackson was named a team member of the decade in 2006 and among the top 20 players in history in 2016.
Marianne Stanley
More than 40 years on the bench at the university and professional level. Won the NCAA in 1985 with Old Dominion and was elected AIAW National Coach of the Year in 1979. Since 2000, has worked as an assistant and head coach for various WNBA franchises. Leading the Washington Mystics, he won the WNBA Best Coach award in 2002.
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