MANILA, Philippines — The late Kobe Bean Bryant is expected to be posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, a report said.
Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, Bryant, along with San Antonio Spurs great Tim Duncan and Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett, will be joining the prestigious list.
Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball @Hoophall Class of 2020, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Formal announcements will be made on Saturday.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 3, 2020
The official announcement of their induction is expected to be made on Saturday (Sunday, Manila time) via television in ESPN's stiduios in Bristol, Conneticut.
Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinees are usually revealed at the NCAA's Final Four, but with March Madness canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, adjustments have been made.
Bryant, Duncan and Garnett combine for a total of 11 championships and 48 All-Star selections between them.
They are also all first-time finalists. All three also have been selected to 15 or more All-Star Games — a feat that only six players in NBA history have done.
Bryant died last January in a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of nine people, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna.
The announcement is set to be a ray of light during an extraordinary time for basketball.
Bryant's death, along with that of longtime NBA commissioner David Stern, and the season suspension due to the global health crisis have given the NBA a rough start this decade.