Vanessa Bryant will speak on behalf of her late husband, Kobe Bryant, as he inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Of Fame. Bryant is a recent addition to the list of guest speakers, Initially, Michael Jordan was listed as the only speaker for Bryant's induction proceedings.
Bryant is a five-time NBA Champion who appeared in 18 NBA All-Star Games and won the NBA MVP award in 2008. His talent, determination and charismatic personality endeared him to fans across the world. Tragically, he died alongside his daughter in January 2020 during a helicopter accident. His untimely passing triggered tributes from Jordan, LeBron James, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg and several others.
The Los Angeles Lakers legend will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Of Fame alongside two of his contemporaries, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. Drafted two years after Bryant, Duncan earned his place in basketball folklore as arguably the greatest power forward to ever take the court. With the San Antonio Spurs, he won five NBA titles, two league MVP awards and appeared in 15 all-star games. He will be introduced by his former teammate, David Robinson. Meanwhile, Garnett will be introduced by fellow hall of fame inductee Isaiah Thomas. He earned the league's MVP award in 2004 and an NBA title four years later.
Rounding out this year's induction ceremony, WNBA legend Tamika Catchings, Eddie Sutton, Kim Mulkey, Barbara Stevens, Rudy Tomjanovich and Patrick Baumann will also be enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Also, National Wheelchair Basketball Association Founder Dr. Tim Nugent will be presented with the Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award.
The enshrinement ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m. and run until 8:00 p.m. ET. ESPN is set to broadcast the event so basketball fans all over the world can say goodbye to Kobe Bryant one last time.
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