Chris Webber, Rick Adelman & Yolanda Griffith Elected To Basketball Hall Of Fame
May 16, 2021, 9:12 AM | Updated: 9:19 am
(USA Today/Getty Images)
(USA Today/Getty Images)
For three legends of Sacramento basketball, it was only fitting that they all become members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame together.
Former Sacramento Kings star forward Chris Webber, head coach Rick Adelman and former Sacramento Monarchs center Yolanda Griffith were announced as members of the 2021 class for the Hall of Fame on Sunday morning, as all three will be inducted in a ceremony this upcoming September.
After eight years of waiting, Webber finally got the call on Saturday night that the wait was over.
Over 15 years in the NBA, the five-time All-Star averaged 20.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. Webber was a force for years while acting as the franchise player for a Kings team that made the postseason in each of his seven seasons in a Sacramento uniform.
Webber is joined in the Class of 2021 by head coach Rick Adelman, who was Sacramento’s coach from 1998-2006, leading the Kings to the postseason in eight-straight seasons.
Adelman is ninth on the NBA’s All-Time wins list by head coaches, holding a win/loss record of 1,042-749 over 23 seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Rounding out the trio of Sacramento basketball greats to be included in the class of 2021 is former Sacramento Monarch and Olympic athlete Yolanda Griffith, a seven-time WNBA All-Star, 2005 WNBA Champion, WNBA MVP and two-time gold medalist with the United States women’s national basketball team in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic games.
Joining Webber, Adelman and Griffith in the Class of 2021: Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh, Ben Wallace, Jay Wright, Bill Russell (already inducted as a player; this time for coaching), Lauren Jackson.
