© Harry How/Getty ImagesKobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter of his last NBA game, against the Utah Jazz at Staples Center on April 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Bryant will be inducted in the NBA Hall of Fame on Saturday.
The late Kobe Bryant will be officially enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, almost 18 months after his life was tragically cut short.
Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gigi were among the nine people killed when the helicopter they were flying in crashed in Calabasas, California on January 26, 2020.
The late Los Angeles Lakers star was selected to be inducted into the Hall of Fame last year, only for the annual ceremony to be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
After a lengthy delay, Bryant will posthumously be enshrined into the Hall of Fame and will be inducted by his friend and mentor Michael Jordan.
Jordan stepped away from the game for a second time after winning a sixth NBA title in 1998, at the end of Bryant's second season in the league. The latter picked up Jordan's mantle and went on to win five NBA titles, two scoring titles and two NBA Finals MVP crowns over a 20-year career.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of Saturday.
When is the Hall of Fame induction ceremony?
The induction ceremony for the Hall of Fame class of 2020 is scheduled for Saturday, May 15. Proceedings get underway at 5:30 p.m. ET. As per tradition, the ceremony will be held at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
How to watch the Hall of Fame induction ceremony
The ceremony will be broadcast live on ESPN, with a live stream available via WatchESPN
Who are the 2020 Hall of Fame inductees?
A cast of basketball stars will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame on Saturday. Aside from Kobe Bryant, five-time NBA champion and three-time MVP Tim Duncan and 2008 NBA champion Kevin Garnett are among the inductees.
Duncan will be presented by former San Antonio Spurs teammate David Robinson, alongside whom he won his first two NBA titles, while Garnett will be introduced by two-time NBA champion Isiah Thomas-Hall of Fame's rule require presenters to be themselves Hall of Famers.
Along with Bryant, Michael Jordan will also present LSU head coach Kim Mulkey. An Olympic gold medalist in 1984 and a three-time NCAA champion as Baylor head coach, Mulkey is the first woman in NCAA's history to win a national championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
NCAA veteran Barbara Stevens will be presented by Geno Auriemma and Muffet McGraw, while four-time Olympic gold medallist and 10-time WNBA All-Star Tamika Catchings will be introduced by 2006 NBA champion Alonzo Mourning and current U.S. Basketball Women's Team head coach Dawn Staley.
University of Kentucky's head coach John Calipari, his Kansas counterpart Will Self and five-time NBA All-Star Sidney Moncrief will introduce the late Eddie Sutton, who coached at high school and college level for five decades. Meanwhile, former Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers head coach Rudy Tomjanovich will be presented into the Hall of Fame by his former assistant Calvin Murphy and two-time NBA champion Hakeem Olajuwon, who played under Tomjanovich in Houston.
Patrick Baumann, the late president of the International Basketball Federation will also be enshrined into the Hall of Fame and will be introduced by former NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik and NBA veteran Vlade Divac, the first player born and raised outside the U.S. to play in over 1,000 NBA games.
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