After the 2020 ceremony was delayed nearly a year, the star-studded Class of 2020 was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday in an emotional ceremony as Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Tamika Catchings, and Kobe Bryant were all immortalized in Springfield.
On Sunday, the Hall announced the Class of 2021 which will be inducted into Springfield later this year, which sees some players make it many have felt are long overdue. Paul Pierce and Chris Bosh are the first-ballot honorees in the Class of 2021, as the modern Celtics legend and the dominant Raptors and Heat forward will be enshrined. Joining Pierce and Bosh from the ranks of modern NBA players are Ben Wallace and Chris Webber, two players whose names have been on the ballot for some time and have been considered two snubs to this point. Former Croatian and Chicago Bulls star Toni Kukoč will also go into the Hall as this year’s International Committee selection, a deserved honor for one of the first European stars to make the leap to the NBA in the 90s.
From the women’s game, seven-time All-Star and three-time WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson and seven-time WNBA All-Star Yolanda Griffith will be welcomed into the Hall. Three coaches will also go in, as Rick Adelman, Jay Wright, and Bill Russell will all be honored later this year — Russell, of course, going in for a second time as he’s already in the Hall as a player and now will go in as a coach as well.
Introducing the @Hoophall Class of 2021
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— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 16, 2021
The rest of the 2021 Class will include selections from various committees: Val Ackerman, Cotton Fitzsimmons, and Howard Garfinkel (Contributors), Clarence “Fats” Jenkings (Early African-American Pioneers), Bob Dandridge (Veterans), and Pearl Monroe (Women’s Veterans).