Bill Fitch, who coached the Boston Celtics to the 1981 NBA Championship, was named a first-time finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Fitch, 77, joined Reggie Miller, Rick Pitino and Katrina McClain as first-time finalists.
Despite putting together a 242-86 record in four seasons in Boston, Fitch may have made his biggest marks on the game by coaching against the Celtics. He was at the helm for the so-called "Miracle of Richfield," when he led a Cavs team that had opened the previous season 0-15 to the 1976 Eastern Conference Finals, where they pushed the Celtics to six games.
After Boston, Fitch went to Houston, where he coached the Rockets to the 1986 NBA Finals, where they lost in six games to the Celtics.
Fitch was a two-time NBA Coach of the Year and was named one of the top 10 coaches in NBA history as part of the NBA's 50th anniversary celebration in 1996-97.
