(First paragraph corrected to repair reference to crash and tribute) The late Kobe Bryant will be among the nine basketball greats who will be inducted at a Springfield, Mass, ceremony into the 2020 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The crash took the lives of nine people, the 5-times National Basketball Association champion Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others. Bryant became an advocate of women’s basketball as his daughter’s interest in the game increased. Other honorees include the longtime coach of Baylor University women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey, who led the Bears to three National Collegiate Athletic Association, and Tamika Catchings, the 10-time All-Star in the Women's National Basketball Association. Basketball Hall of Fame: Kobe, Duncan, KG lead Class of 2020 (Apr 2020)https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28220366/basketball-hall-fame-kobe-duncan-kg-lead-class-2020-finalistsKobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett headline 2020 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class (CBS Apr 2020)https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kobe-bryant-tim-duncan-kevin-garnett-headline-2020-naismith-memorial-basketball-hall-of-fame-class/Dwight Howard soars again in honor of Kobe Bryant (LATimes Apr 2020)https://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/story/2020-02-15/dwight-howard-soars-again-in-honor-of-kobe-bryant

Source: Los Angeles Times August 14, 2020 21:56 UTC