Kobe Bryant Nominated into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

Kobe Bryant was an American basketball player. As a shooting guard, Bryant entered the National Basketball Association (NBA) from his high school “Lower Merion,” in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, where he started his basketball gaming career.

The Basketball legend was birthed on August 23, 1978, to the family of former NBA player Joe Bryant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He died in a helicopter crash on January 23, 2020, alongside his 13-years old daughter, Giana, and seven others on the aircraft in Calabasas, California.

The 18-time All-Star who played his 20-year career in Los Angeles, Lakers was a five-time NBA champion, the 2007 NBA MVP, a two-time NBA Finals MVP, and later became a basketball legend for his generation.

However, Kobe Bryant was nominated into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame alongside eight others. At the same time, his official induction to the Hall of fame comes less than three months after his death.

The basketball legend who retired April 13, 2016, met the requirements of The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame that states — a player must have been fully withdrawn from play for a minimum of three years and have at least 50 career wins.

The Hall of Fame Chairman, Jerry Colangelo said there are laid down criteria used during the nominations, in terms of the All-Star appearances,
All-League, first team, second team, third team, the various awards, and the
championships. He further added that each year, there’s usually one person who stands out with an array of all those honors, but this time, the
accumulative is unbelievable.

Other nominees included were:

• Tim Duncan. He was an American professional player for San Antonio Spurs, who is the present assistant coach for the team, age 43.

• Former Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Garnett. He played 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), age 43.

• Edward Sutton. He retired as an American basketball coach, where he coached Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Oklahoma State. He is 84 years old.

• Rudolph Tomjanovich Jr, 71, a retired American player, who later became a coach, and he coached the Houston Rockets to NBA championship.

• Tamika Catchings, age 40, is an American retired basketball player who played for the Indiana fever of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

• Kim Mulkey, aged 57, was inducted into the Hall of fame as a player in 2000 and is now nominated as a coach.

• Barbara Stevens. Age 65. She was the former coach for Clark and Massachusetts University and currently the head coach of the Bently University women’s basketball team.

• Patrick Bauman, aged 51, nominated as a basketball executive, he was the President of the Global Association of International Sports Federation and Secretary-General of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of fame was named after Dr. James Naismith, the Canadian physician who discover basketball.
Moreover, the induction ceremony will be held on August 29 in Springfield, MA. It is not yet known who will speak on behalf of Kobe Bryant during the induction ceremony.