Kobe Bryant will be posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame along with NBA greats Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, it was announced on Saturday.
Bryant, an 18-time All-Star and five-time NBA champion during his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, was among the eight finalists who were announced in February.
The 2020 class includes five-time NBA Champion Tim Duncan and 15-time All Star Kevin Garnett. WNBA great Tamika Catchings, two-time NBA champion coach Rudy Tomjanovich, longtime Baylor women’s coach Kim Mulkey, 1,000-game winner Barbara Stevens of Bentley and three-time Final Four coach Eddie Sutton will also be inducted at the enshrinement ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts, is scheduled for Aug. 29.
“This is an incredibly special class, for many reasons,” Hall of Fame Chairman and enshrinee Jerry Colangelo said.
FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann was also selected as a direct-elect by the international committee, bringing the total number of inductees to nine.
Bryant died with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26 as the group was on its way to a basketball tournament. This was about three weeks before the Hall of Fame announced that he was a finalist.
“The highest of congratulations to you, dear friend,” Lakers Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement, Sports Illustrated reported. “This one is so well deserved — for all the hard work, sweat and toil. Now, a part of you will live in the Hall with the rest of the all-time greats, where your legend and spirit will continue to grow forever.”
