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Kobe Bryant Will Be Inducted Into Basketball Hall Of Fame
What a journey it's been. Welcome to the Hall of Fame, Kobe. pic.twitter.com/4tLIttRyaW
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 4, 2020
Los Angeles Laker great Kobe Bryant is among nine new members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. While players are usually not eligible until they’ve been retired for four full seasons -- so not until their fifth year of retirement -- that requirement was waived for Bryant.
The 2020 Hall of Fame induction ceremony is set for late August. Here's how the official release describes the class:
- Kobe Bryant: 18-time NBA All-Star and five-time NBA champion
- Tim Duncan: 15-time NBA All-Star and three-time NBA Finals MVP
- Kevin Garnett: 15-time NBA All-Star and nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection
- Eddie Sutton: four-time NCAA National Coach of the Year
- Rudy Tomjanovich: two-time NBA Champion coac
- Tamika Catchings: 10-time WNBA All-Star and four-time Olympic gold medalist
- Kim Mulkey: three-time NCAA National Championship Coach of Baylor
- Barbara Stevens: five-time NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year
- Patrick Baumann: longtime FIBA executive
Bryant and eight other people were killed on Jan. 26 when their helicopter crashed on January 26th in the hills above Calabasas.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said a player was eligible for consideration three years after retiring.
MORE ON KOBE BRYANT
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