Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett headline nine-member 2020 Hall of Fame Class

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — In the present day , the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame introduced the 9 honorees within the Class of 2020 offered by Fifty-5 South Ventures. The Class of 2020 might be enshrined in Springfield, Massachusetts, the Birthplace of Basketball, on Saturday, August 29, 2020.

As beforehand introduced, in gentle of the distinctive circumstance surrounding the Class of 2020, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Election Course of Committee suspended the Direct Election Classes for one 12 months aside from the Worldwide Committee. This 12 months’s distinguished class consists of honorees from the North American committee, Ladies’s Committee and Worldwide Committee. To be elected, North American and Ladies’s Committee finalists should obtain 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Corridor of Fame.

• Three once-in-a-lifetime stars head Hall of Fame Class of 2020

The Class of 2020 consists of: 18-time NBA All-Star and five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant, 15-time NBA All-Star and three-time NBA Finals MVP Tim Duncan, 15-time NBA All-Star and nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Group choice Kevin Garnett, four-time Nationwide Coach of the 12 months Eddie Sutton, two-time NBA Champion coach Rudy Tomjanovich, 10-time WNBA All-Star and four-time Olympic gold medalist Tamika Catchings, three-time NCAA Nationwide Championship Coach of Baylor Kim Mulkey, five-time Division II Nationwide Coach of the 12 months Barbara Stevens and longtime FIBA govt Patrick Baumann.

“The Class of 2020 is undoubtedly one of the vital historic of all time and the expertise and social affect of those 9 honorees is past measure,” mentioned John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “In 2020, the basketball group has suffered the unimaginable lack of iconic figures Commissioner David Stern and Kobe Bryant, in addition to the sport itself because of COVID-19. We’ve got additionally banded collectively like by no means earlier than in appreciation of the sport and those that have made it the uniting power it’s in the present day. In the present day we thank the Class of 2020 for all they’ve executed for the sport of basketball and we look ahead to celebrating them at Enshrinement in August.”

The Class of 2020 Enshrinement festivities will start at Mohegan Solar on Friday, August 28th with the newly formatted Enshrinement Tip-Off Celebration and Awards Gala. The Class of 2020 and over 50 returning Hall of Famers will then journey to Springfield, Mass. for the annual celebratory occasions happening on the newly renovated Naismith Memorial Basketball Corridor of Fame and Springfield Symphony Hall on the 29th. The second day of occasions in Springfield will embrace a particular community-focused Celebration Day on the 30th.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2020

North American Committee:

KOBE BRYANT [Player] — Acknowledged posthumously, Bryant was an 18-time NBA All-Star (1998, 2000-16) and 11-time All-NBA First Group choice (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006-13). As an All-Star, he earned the Sport’s MVP trophy 4 instances (2002, 2007, 2009, 2011). He was additionally a five-time NBA Champion with the Los Angeles Lakers (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010), the 2008 NBA MVP and Finals MVP twice (2009, 2010). He famously scored the second-most factors in a single recreation in NBA historical past (81), led the NBA in complete factors for 4 seasons (2003, 2006, 2007, 2008) and ranks fourth on the NBA’s profession factors record (33,643). Usually celebrated for his offensive prowess, Bryant was additionally a nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Group member (2000, 2003, 2004, 2006-11). With USA Basketball, Bryant earned an Olympic gold medal in 2008 and 2012.

TIM DUNCAN [Player] — Duncan is a 15-time NBA All-Star (1998, 2000-11, 2013, 2015) and an eight-time member of the NBA All-Defensive First Group (1999-2003, 2005, 2007, 2008). He’s additionally a five-time NBA Champion with the San Antonio Spurs (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014), having earned Finals MVP 3 times (1999, 2003, 2005). In 2002 and 2003, he was named NBA MVP and in 1998 he gained Rookie of the 12 months. Duncan is the one participant in NBA historical past with 1,000 or extra wins with one crew, which he amassed in his 19 years with the Spurs. He’s ranked within the high 10 for NBA all-time rebounds and blocks leaders. As a school athlete at Wake Forest, Duncan earned ACC Participant of the 12 months and was a unanimous First Group All-American in 1996 and 1997. In 1997, he additionally collected the Picket, Naismith, Rupp, and Oscar Robertson Awards, whereas being named AP Faculty Participant of the 12 months.

KEVIN GARNETT [Player] — Garnett is a 15-time NBA All-Star (1997-1998, 2000-11, 2013) and 2008 NBA Champion with the Boston Celtics extensively regarded for his ardour and depth on the courtroom. A nine-time NBA All- Defensive First Group choice (2000-05, 2008-09, 2011), he led the league in rebounds for 4 consecutive seasons (2004-2007) and was named Defensive Participant of the 12 months in 2008. Whereas taking part in for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2004, Garnett led the league in complete factors, area targets made and complete rebounds whereas incomes NBA MVP. He’s ranked ninth in NBA’s all-time leaders for rebounds. With USA Basketball, Garnett earned an Olympic gold medal in 2000. Garnett performed 21 NBA seasons and is presently ranked fourth in all-time minutes performed (50,418).

EDDIE SUTTON [Coach] — Sutton is a four-time Nationwide Coach of the 12 months (1977, 1978, 1986, 1995), eight-time Convention Coach of the 12 months (1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1986, 1993, 1998, 2004) and the primary coach in NCAA historical past to steer 4 totally different faculties within the NCAA Match. Sutton ranks within the high ten amongst Division I coaches in all-time victories and has recorded just one shedding season in 37 years of teaching. He coached Oklahoma State College from 1991-2006 and tied the convention report for wins by a first-year coach with 24. Collectively, Sutton guided his groups to 3 Closing Fours, six Elite Eights and 12 Candy Sixteen appearances.

RUDY TOMJANOVICH [Coach] — Tomjanovich spent 34 consecutive seasons with the Houston Rockets group as a participant (1970-1982), assistant coach (1983-1992) and head coach (1992-2003). He was named The Sporting Information NBA Coach of the 12 months in 1993. He’s the one particular person in NBA historical past to attain 10,000 profession factors as a participant and win 500 profession video games with two championships as a coach. Tomjanovich led the Rockets to NBA Championships in 1994 and 1995 and is certainly one of three coaches to win an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal. He led USA Basketball to a gold medal within the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Ladies’s Committee:

TAMIKA CATCHINGS [Player] — Catchings is a 10-time WNBA All-Star (2002, 2003, 2005-2007, 2009, 2011, 2013-2015) and four-time Olympic gold medalist (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016). After profitable WNBA MVP in 2011, she led the Indiana Fever to a WNBA Championship in 2012 whereas accumulating WNBA Finals MVP honors. She performed her complete 14-year WNBA profession with the Fever, whereas being named WNBA Defensive Participant of the 12 months 5 instances (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012) and Rookie of the 12 months in 2002. Because the WNBA all-time steals chief, Catchings was named a member of the WNBA High 20 Gamers within the league’s 20-year historical past in 2016. With Pat Summitt’s Girl Vols, Catchings gained a nationwide championship in 1998 and was named a four-time Kodak First Group All- American (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001), in addition to the consensus Nationwide Participant of the 12 months in 2000.

Ladies’s Committee (continued):

KIM MULKEY [Coach] — Mulkey has led the Baylor Bears to 3 NCAA Nationwide Championships (2005, 2012, 2019) and ranks third all-time amongst head coaches in win share. In 2012, Mulkey was named the Consensus Nationwide Faculty Coach of the 12 months incomes the Naismith Coach of the 12 months, Related Press Faculty Basketball Coach of the 12 months, WBCA Nationwide Coach of the 12 months and USBWA Nationwide Coach of the 12 months. As the top coach of Baylor since 2000, she has guided her crew to 17 NCAA Match appearances together with 13 Candy Sixteens, eight Elite Eights and 4 Closing 4 appearances. Her Baylor squad has additionally gained 10 Huge 12 common season championships (2005, 2011-2019) and 10 Huge 12 Match championships (2005, 2009, 2011-2016, 2018), incomes her Huge 12 Coach of the 12 months honors seven instances (2005, 2011- 2013, 2015, 2018-2019). Mulkey is the primary particular person, male or feminine, to win a nationwide championship as a participant, assistant coach and head coach.

BARBARA STEVENS [Coach] — Teaching within the collegiate ranks for over 40 years, Stevens is the fifth coach in NCAA girls’s basketball historical past to succeed in 1,000 profession wins. She has been named the Russell Athletic / WBCA Division II Nationwide Coach of the 12 months 5 instances (1992, 1999, 2001, 2013, 2014) and Northeast-10 Coach of the 12 months 15 instances (1988, 1989, 1991-1993, 1996-2001, 2003, 2011, 2014, 2018). As the top coach of Bentley College since 1986, she has guided her crew to 22 25-win seasons and 10 journeys to the Division II Fab 4, together with a nationwide championship in 2014. Stevens has been inducted into the New England Basketball Corridor of Fame (2002) and Ladies’s Basketball Corridor of Fame (2006).

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Direct Elect Members:

Worldwide Committee:

PATRICK BAUMANN [Contributor] — Acknowledged posthumously, Patrick Baumann drastically contributed to the sport as a longtime FIBA govt and a member of the Worldwide Olympic Committee for greater than 10 years. He initially joined FIBA in 1994, rising by means of the ranks and incomes the title of Secretary Common in 2002, a title he held till his premature passing in 2018. He primarily targeted on the youth sector and the enlargement of 3×3 basketball as a worldwide recreation, whereas creating packages and occasions to develop basketball worldwide. A local of Switzerland, Baumann held a lot of positions on a number of esteemed sports activities councils and advisory boards and was a basketball participant, coach and referee previous to becoming a member of FIBA.