It will be hard to top the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2020 when it comes to star power, but the Class of 2021 comes close. The list of names was officially announced on Sunday, and it includes 16 total honorees, including NBA greats Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh, Chris Webber and Ben Wallace, among others.
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Here's the complete list of inductees:
- Paul Pierce (Player)
- Chris Webber (Player)
- Chris Bosh (Player)
- Ben Wallace (Player)
- Rick Adelman (Coach)
- Lauren Jackson (Player)
- Yolanda Griffith (Player)
- Jay Wright (Coach)
- Bill Russell (Coach)
- Val Ackerman (Contributor)
- Toni Kukoc (Player)
- Cotton Fitzsimmons (Contributor)
- Howard Garfinkel (Contributor)
- Clarence Jenkins (Player)
- Pearl Moore (Player)
- Bob Dandridge (Player)
From the NBA:
This year's class includes nine honorees from the North American and Women's committees: ninth-winningest coach in NBA history Rick Adelman, two-time NBA champion and 11-time NBA All-Star Chris Bosh, NBA Finals MVP and 10-time NBA All-Star Paul Pierce, the first Black NBA head coach Bill Russell, four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and NBA Champion Ben Wallace, five-time NBA All-Star and NBA Rookie of the Year Chris Webber, two-time NCAA national champion Villanova coach Jay Wright, seven-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Yolanda Griffith and seven-time WNBA All-Star and three-time WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson.
Distinguished committees focused on preserving all areas from the game also selected seven directly elected enshrinees: Val Ackerman, Cotton Fitzsimmons and Howard Garfinkel from the Contributor Committee,Clarence "Fats" Jenkins from the Early African American Pioneers Committee, Toni Kukoc from the International Committee, Bob Dandridge from the Veterans Committee and Pearl Moore from the Women's Veterans Committee.
The Class of 2021 will be officially enshrined in Springfield, Mass. on Saturday, Sept. 11, marking the first time in the history of the Hall that two different classes will be inducted in the same calendar year. The Class of 2020, headlined by Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, was enshrined on May 15.
"For the first time in our history, we'll enshrine two Classes in one calendar year," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. "We couldn't be more excited to welcome the Class of 2021 to Springfield – the Birthplace of Basketball – where we can celebrate them and honor their remarkable achievements and contributions to the game."
In all, 2021 will end up being one of the most eventful years in the history of the Basketball Hall of Fame, as a whole lot of deserving talent will be enshrined between the two classes.
