On Thursday, The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced its honorees for the 2020 Hall of Fame inductees.
Among the presenters, Michael Jordan is the biggest name, and he will be honoring the late Kobe Bryant by announcing his induction to the Hall of Fame.
In early 2020, Bryant passed away in a fatal helicopter crash. During his memorial service, Jordan spoke about the Lakers’ legend. “Kobe was my dear friend, he was like a little brother,” Jordan said. “When Kobe died, a little piece of me died. This kid had passion as you would never know, as I got to know him, I wanted to be the best big brother that I could be.”
Growing up, Bryant idolized the Chicago Bulls legend and sought to emulate Jordan’s game. Once Bryant made it to the NBA, he dedicated his early career to learning from Jordan on and off the court. At first, MJ was irked about Bryant’s constant questioning, but it soon faded as a bond was formed between them. “At first, it was an aggravation,” Jordan said. “Then it became a passion.”
The two formed a sibling bond. “He was really like a big brother, and whether it’s because we similarly see things in terms of our competitive spirit or fire or whatever the case may be, there’s an understanding that we have a connection that we have,” Bryant once said of Jordan.
Jordan will be the only Hall of Famer to be presenting multiple people in the ceremony. The Chicago legend will also be presenting women’s coach Kim Mulkey in the Hall of Fame ceremony.
The other inductees and their presenters are the following:
- Patrick Baumann, presented by Russ Granik and Vlade Divac
- Tamika Catchings, presented by Alonzo Mourning and Dawn Staley
- Tim Duncan, presented by David Robinson
- Kevin Garnett, presented by Isiah Thomas
- Barbara Stevens, presented by Geno Auriemma and Muffet McGraw
- Eddie Sutton, presented by John Calipari, Bill Self and Sidney Moncrief
- Rudy Tomjanovich, presented by Calvin Murphy and Hakeem Olajuwon
