Late NBA superstar and Academy Award-winner Kobe Bryant will be posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
ESPN reports that Bryant is one of nine inductees in a star-studded class that includes Kevin Garnett and 10-time WNBA All-Star Tamika Catchings.
Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, called the induction the “peak” of her late husband’s career, “It’s definitely the peak of his NBA career, and every accomplishment that he had as an athlete was a steppingstone to be here.” It’s no surprise that Bryant was chosen for induction. The late basketball star was a five-time NBA champion with two Olympic gold medals.
Lakers controlling owner and president Jeanie Buss said in a statement, “No amount of words can fully describe what Kobe Bryant meant to the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe was not only a proven winner and a champion, he gave everything he had to the game of basketball. His fierce competitiveness, work ethic, and drive were unmatched. Those qualities helped Kobe lead us to five titles — and have now brought him to the Hall of Fame, where he will be enshrined with the greatest to have ever played the game. No one deserves it more.”