Kobe Bryant’s Hall of Fame induction has been moved to May
Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett will finally enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in May 2021.
The NBA said Saturday that the delayed Hall of Fame weekend — it was to have taken place in Springfield, Mass., in August before being pushed back because of the COVID-19 pandemic — will be held from May 13-15.
Bryant, Duncan and Garnett — with a combined 48 All-Star game selections and 11 NBA championships among them — were the headliners of the class that was announced back in April. They all got into the Hall in their first year as finalists, as did WNBA great Tamika Catchings.
Others had to wait a bit longer for the Hall’s call: Two-time NBA champion coach Rudy Tomjanovich got in this year, as did longtime Baylor women’s coach Kim Mulkey, 1,000-game winner Barbara Stevens of Bentley and three-time Final Four coach Eddie Sutton.
Bryant died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, along with daughter Gianna and seven others. Sutton died May 23.
Also going in as part of this class is former FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann, who was chosen by the international committee. Baumann died in October 2018.
The NBA’s preseason schedule will begin with the defending champion Lakers facing the Clippers twice in three days beginning Dec. 11.
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