The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has announced the 2021 class of presenters, per the NBA.
This year’s Hall of Fame class includes;
Portland Trail Blazers’, Golden State Warriors’, Sacramento Kings’, Houston Rockets’, and Minnesota Timberwolves’ head coach Rick Adelman.
11x all-star and 2x NBA champion Chris Bosh.
10x all-star and NBA Finals MVP Paul Pierce.
The first black head-coach in NBA history: Bill Russell (already in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player).
4x NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace.
5x NBA all-star and NBA Rookie of the Year Chris Webber.
2x NCAA national champion Villanova head coach Jay Wright.
7x WNBA all-star and Olympic gold medalist Yolanda Griffith.
3x WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson.
As well as a group of seven who were selected by “distinguished committees” dedicated to preserving the history of the game, including:
Sports executive and former first WNBA President Val Ackerman.
2x NBA Coach of the Year Cotton Fitzsimmons.
High School basketball scout and “Five Star” basketball camp pioneer Howard Garfinkel.
Professional baseball and basketball star Clarence “Fats” Jenkins.
3x NBA champion, 3x Euroleague champion, and NBA Sixth Man of the Year Toni Kukoc.
4x NBA all-star and 2x NBA champion Bob Dandridge.
All-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball Pearl Moore.
And each inductee will be presented by the following presenters (along with the year of their induction):
Val Ackerman, presented by Russ Granik (’13) and Rick Welts (’18).
Rick Adelman, presented by Vlade Divac (’19) and Jack Sikma (’19).
Chris Bosh, presented by Ray Allen (’18) and Pat Riley (’08).
Bob Dandridge, presented by Oscar Robertson (’80).
Cotton Fitzsimmons, presented by Charles Barkley (’06), Jerry Colangelo (’04), and Phil Knight (’12).
Howard Garfinkel, presented byJohn Calipari (’15), Grant Hill (’18), and Bobby Hurley (’10).
Yolanda Griffith, presented by Van Chancellor (’07).
Lauren Jackson, presented by Sheryl Swoopes (’16).
Clarence Jenkins, presented by Wayne Embry (’99).
Toni Kukoc, presented by Michael Jordan (’09) and Jerry Reinsdorf (’16).
Pearl Moore, presented by Sylvia Hatchell (’13).
Paul Pierce, presented by Kevin Garnett (’20).
Bill Russell, presented by Charles Barkley (’06), Julius Erving (’93), Spencer Haywood (’15), Alonzo Mourning (’14), Bill Walton (’93), and Rick Welts (’18).
Ben Wallace, presented by Larry Brown (’02).
Chris Webber, presented by Isiah Thomas (’00).
Jay Wright, presented by Charles Barkley (’06), Bill Cunningham (’86), Herb Magee (’11), and George Raveling (’15).
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, September 11 at MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.