The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the finalists for its 2021 class, including an icon of the game who's already enshrined and a worthy candidate who missed his first ballot amid a loaded class.
Bill Russell, Chris Bosh and Paul Pierce headline the list of 14 finalists the Hall named on Tuesday.
Bill Russell was NBA's first Black head coach
Russell, long enshrined as a player, is a finalist as head coach. After winning 11 NBA championships as a player with the Boston Celtics, Russell returned to the franchise as the league's first Black head coach in 1966.