The 2020 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class might be one of the best ever.
Headlined by former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, fellow honorees include ex-Boston Celtic Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Tamika Catchings, Patrick Baumann, Barbara Stevens, Kim Mulkey, Eddie Sutton and Rudy Tomjanovich.
The Basketball Hall of Fame officially released the finalists Saturday.
Congratulations to the Class of 2020. The Road To SPRINGFIELD starts now. 🏀🏆 #20HoopClass
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— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) April 4, 2020
Introducing the #20HoopClass! pic.twitter.com/d9y2t5HH0z
— NBA (@NBA) April 4, 2020
Bryant, who will be honored posthumously after a tragic helicopter crash took his life in January, ranks fourth on the NBA’s career points list with 33,643 and won five NBA championships.
A fellow five-time NBA champion, Duncan is the only player in NBA history with 1,000 or more wins with one team. He ranks in the top 10 all-time in rebounds and blocks and won three NBA Finals MVPs.
Garnett, a 2008 NBA champion with the Celtics, was named an NBA All-Star in 15 of his 21 seasons in the Association. He ranks fourth all-time in minutes played (50,418) and earned nine NBA All-Defensive First- Team selections.
Catchings was named among the WNBA’s Top 20 Players in the leagues’ 20-year history in 2016. In her 14-year career, she was a 10-time All-Star, four-time Olympic gold medalist and holds the WNBA’s steals record.
Baumann, who’ll enter the Hall of Fame posthumously as a contributor, helped grow the game as a longtime FIBA executive and a member of the IOC. His efforts expanded youth programs and 3×3 competition around the world.
Stevens is being honored after coaching in the collegiate ranks for more than 40 years. She is the fifth coach in NCAA women’s basketball history to reach 1,000 career wins.
Mulkey is the first individual in NCAA history, either male or female, to win a national championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
Sutton ranks in the top 10 for wins by a Division I coach. He has guided his teams to three Final Fours, six Elite Eights and 12 Sweet Sixteen appearances.
Tomjanovich spent 34 seasons with the Houston Rockets as a player, assistant coach and head coach. He is a two-time NBA champion.
All finalists earned at least 18 of the 24 total votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Class of 2020 will be enshrined Aug. 29 in Springfield, Mass., at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony.
