Paul Pierce, Doug Collins, Michael Cooper and Lauren Jackson are the head of the group nominated for the first time at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021, announced on Tuesday at The Jump, on ESPN.
He also joins the group for the first time Howard Garfinkel, Lou Henson, Val Ackerman and Yolanda Griffith, to participate in popular candidates Chauncey Billups, Chris Bosh, Richard Hamilton, Becky Hammon, Swin Cash and Ben Wallace.
Pierce spent 15 of the 19 NBA seasons with the Boston Celtics, winning a championship and MVP in the Finals in 2008. He is a 10-time All-Star and second on the all-time Celtics all-time leading list behind John Havlicek.
Collins is the former draft general and has spent all eight seasons of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers. He is best known for coaching, starting with the Chicago Bulls in 1986, where he coached Michael Jordan before Phil Jackson. Collins continued to coach the Pistons, Wizards and 76ers and has a career record of 442-407.
Cooper spent 12 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers as a member of the “Showtime” era, winning five championships. He was named NBA Player of the Year in 1987 and has been named to the All-Defensive team five times. After his playing career, he continued to coach the Los Angeles Sparks, winning two championships and the 2000 WNBA Coach of the Year.
Jackson is one of the most decorated female players, winning WNBL MVP honors four times and WNBA MVP three times. She is a three-time WNBA champion and seven-time WNBA All-Star, won Defensive Player of the Year in 2007 and was named MVP in the 2010 WNBA Finals, while leading the Seattle storm to a championship.
Garfinkel was a legendary basketball scout and founded the five-star basketball camp, Henson is the most successful coach at the University of Illinois and New Mexico, Ackerman was the first president of the WNBA and Griffith played 11 years in the WNBA. winning a title and final MVP with the Sacramento Monarchs in 2005.
The selection process for the commission’s finalists for North America and Women will take place in the NBA All-Star Weekend, scheduled for early March. The entire 2021 class will be unveiled in the NCAA Final Four, scheduled for early April.
The 2021 class will be introduced in Springfield, Massachusetts, in September 2021. The 2020 consecration ceremony – a group of celebrities, led by Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett – has been rescheduled and relocated, set for May 13-15 in Mohegan. Sun from Uncasville, Connecticut.