The 2020 class for the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame class has been reported, and unsurprisingly, the late, great Kobe Bryant is leading the way.
Kobe Bryant is headed to the Hall of Fame.
On Friday, Shams Charania reported Kobe is one of three major headliners for the 2020 Pro Basketball Hall of Fame class. The former Los Angeles Lakers superstar guard is being joined by San Antonio Spurs power forward/center Tim Duncan and Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics great, forward Kevin Garnett.
Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball @Hoophall Class of 2020, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Formal announcements will be made on Saturday.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 3, 2020
While the entire class has not been officially announced yet — Charania says that will come this weekend — this is easily one of the greatest classes of all time.
Of course, the class will forever be remembered for Kobe, who died tragically alongside daughter Gianna and seven other people aboard a helicopter flight over California in January.
During his playing days, Bryant won five championships with the Lakers. He was also named the 2008 NBA MVP, was twice the Finals MVP, made 11 All-NBA First Teams and was a nine-time All-NBA Defensive Team. For his career, Bryant averaged 25 points per game.
As for the others, there’s a quality argument for Duncan as the greatest power forward of all time, with the former No. 1 overall pick dominating for two decades in San Antonio.
With the Spurs, Duncan won four titles alongside head coach Gregg Popvich. Duncan collected consecutive NBA MVP awards in 2002 and ’03, while being named First-Team All-NBA 10 times. He was named an All-Star on 15 occasions and was an eight-time All-NBA Defensive Team member.
Meanwhile, Garnett came straight out of high school and was an athlete unlike the league had ever seen, standing 6-foot-11 and being able to play on the perimeter and the block.
Garnett earned five First-Team All-NBA nods, along with three Second-Team All-NBA and two Third-Team All-NBA honors. Same as Bryant, Garnett was on nine All-NBA Defensive Teams.
Garnett won his only championship as a member of the Celtics in 2008, beating Bryant’s Lakers. Garnett was also the 2004 NBA MVP for the Timberwolves.