NEW YORK Los Angeles Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant – who died last month in a helicopter crash along with his daughter Gianna and seven others – was among eight finalists named Friday for 2020 induction to the Basketball Hall of Fame. It’s a a bittersweet moment to know that five-time NBA champion name called as a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Finalist and for him not to be there to hear it. The Hall of Fame inductees will be announced on April 4 in Atlanta at the US college “Final Four” with 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee needed to join the select list. Bryant, an 18-time NBA All-Star in his first year of eligibility, is considered a certainty to join the ranks of the sport´s immortals by being enshrined at the honor shrine in Springfield, Massachusetts. Other first-time finalists include 15-time NBA All-Star and three-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Tim Duncan, 15-time NBA All-Star and nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection Kevin Garnett and 10-time Women´s NBA All-Star and four-time Olympic champion Tamika Catchings. “We knew this class had the potential of being one of the most historic of all time,” said Hall of Fame chairman Jerry Colangelo.—AP
