Springfield, Mass. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame today announced nine players and five coaches as finalists for the Class of 2021, and Georgia Tech Hall of Famer Chris Bosh is among those named by the North American and Women’s committees to be considered for election in 2021.
This year’s list includes nine first-time finalists: ninth-winningest coach in NBA history Rick Adelman, two-time NBA champion and 11-time NBA All-Star Bosh, five-time NBA champion and five-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection Michael Cooper, NBA Finals MVP and 10-time NBA All-Star Paul Pierce, the first Black NBA head coach Bill Russell, two-time NCAA national champion Villanova coach Jay Wright, seven-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Yolanda Griffith, seven-time WNBA All-Star and three-time WNBA Most Valuable Player Lauren Jackson, and NCAA national champion and WNBA Coach of the Year Marianne Stanley.
Previous finalists included again this year for consideration are: the all-time winningest high school coach Leta Andrews, five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, consensus National Collegiate Player of the Year Marques Johnson, four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace, and five-time NBA All-Star Chris Webber.
A member of the Gold-medal-winning USA Basketball team at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Chris Bosh became part of Georgia Tech basketball’s return to national prominence in the mid-2000s. In his one season on The Flats, Bosh…
