Current superstars in the National Basketball Association did not make headlines this past weekend. However it was a great opportunity to celebrate some of the greatest players of all-time as the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced its class for 2020. The people assembled this year are simply fantastic.
The NBA players inducted are the late Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. They are joined by former Houston Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich, University of Oklahoma State head coach Eddie Sutton, women’s basketball head coaches Barbara Stevens and Kim Mulkey, WNBA player Tamika Catchings and the late FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann.
There is no question that the focus of the induction ceremony will be on Bryant, who passed away in a plane crash on January 26. Bryant, the five-time NBA champion is fourth all-time in scoring with 33, 643 points and was the NBA’s most valuable player in 2008. He spent his entire NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 to 2016.
Like Bryant, Duncan is also a five-time NBA champion. He was the NBA’s most valuable player in 2002 and 2003. Duncan is sixth all-time in rebounds with 15091. Also like Bryant, Duncan spent his entire career with a single team as he was a power forward with the San Antonio Spurs from 1997 to 2016.
Garnett played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets from 1995 to 2016. The NBA’s most valuable player while with the Timberwolves in 2004, Garnett won the NBA Finals with the Celtics in 2008.
Tomjanovich was the head coach of the Houston Rockets from 1992 to 2003 and then was with the Lakers from 2004 to 2005. He won back-to-back NBA Finals with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995.
