SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Celtics legend Paul Pierce has been named a 2021 finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the organization announced on Tuesday afternoon. Drafted 10th overall in the 1998 NBA Draft, Pierce became a 10-time All-Star and played 19 years in the National Basketball Association, 15 of them for the Boston Celtics.
Congratulations to 10x @NBAAllStar, NBA Champion and NBA Finals MVP, #21HoopClass finalist Paul Pierce. pic.twitter.com/2FwFNMVRw7
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) March 9, 2021
In 2008, Pierce led the C’s to their first NBA championship in 22 years, earning NBA Finals MVP in the process in a six-game series win over the Los Angeles Lakers. One member of the new-era Big Three, Pierce, along with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, helped Boston return to the Finals in 2010, where they fell to LA in seven games.
In 2018, the Celtics retired Pierce’s 34, making his number the 23rd retired in team history. He holds the Celtics’ team record for most three-pointers made with 1,823, nearly double that of second-place Antoine Walker (937).
Pierce was one of 14 finalists announced on Tuesday, but he was not the only Celtic named.
Bill Russell, who served as the NBA’s first Black head coach in the 1966-1967 season, was named a finalist for the Hall as a coach more than 45 years after he was inducted as a player in 1975.
Russell was also the first Black head coach in league history to win an NBA championship, leading the 1968 Celtics to the title in his second season as a player-coach.
Congratulations to #21HoopClass finalist Bill Russell, who became the first Black head coach in the @NBA and led the @celtics to back-to-back NBA Championships in 1968 and 1969. pic.twitter.com/FXnub0NFZS
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) March 9, 2021
Russell, an 11-time champion with the Celtics as a player and a coach, added his last ring in 1969 when he led the team to a seven-game series victory over the favored LA Lakers.
PREVIOUS: Tatum scores 27, Celtics outlast depleted Raptors 132-125
Chris Bosh, Michael Cooper, Yolanda Griffith, Tom Hardaway, Lauren Jackson, Marques Johnson, Ben Wallace and Chris Webber were the other players named as finalists for the 2021 Hall of Fame Class, while Rick Adelman, Leta Andrews, Marianne Stanley and Jay Wright were the other coaches announced as finalists.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
