PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The 2020 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame — loaded with basketball icons, including the late, great Kobe Bryant — will officially be enshrined on Saturday. Last year’s ceremony was postponed because of the pandemic.
It will be an emotional weekend in Uncasville, Connecticut, for anyone who idolized Bryant. The Lower Merion High School star became a global titan over 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant, along with his daughter Gianna and seven other people died in a helicopter crash in California on Jan. 26, 2020.
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Sixers star Joel Embiid recently re-told a story about when he was a teenager in Cameroon, watching Bryant play on television. It was the 2010 NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Boston Celtics, coached at the time by Doc Rivers. Los Angeles won in an epic seven-game series, capturing Bryant his fifth and final NBA Championship.
"It was kind of my first time watching NBA basketball, and it happened to be the Lakers, and all I kept hearing was 'Kobe.' And they won that year," Embiid said. "And that was also when I fell in love with basketball, and that’s why he became my favorite player."
Embiid added, "I would say I’m probably here because of him."
Embiid said it wasn't the easiest thing, growing up in Africa, to watch Bryant play — in part, because of the time zone difference, and also because of his parents' rules when it came about bedtime and electronics. When he did see footage of Bryant, Embiid said he tried to learn as much as he could.
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Sixers sharpshooter Seth Curry and his brother — Warriors superstar Steph — grew up watching Bryant play against their dad, Dell, during the early parts of Bryant’s career. Both Seth and Steph were in the league at the same time as Bryant, at the end of his career.
Seth also noted the fact that he and Bryant share a birthday, Aug. 23, but separated by 12 years.
"I thought that was a cool little nugget growing up, just knowing that I got the same birthday as Kobe," Seth said. "But, as basketball players and competitors, he laid the blueprint for a lot of us growing up, just to watch his work ethic and how serious he took the game and how he was able to just compete once you step on that floor at the highest level."
Seth recalled an occasion in Las Vegas during the pre-season when Bryant, an opponent, approached him and some teammates and started shedding his wisdom toward the end of his career.
"He came and sat down with us [at the restaurant we were at] and just talked to us for an hour about just what he does to get ready for a game, a season," Seth said. "It was just weird, because you hear all the stories growing up about how he doesn’t really like anybody, doesn’t have any friends in the league, and then he just kinda just change the way he approach the game and how generous he was to the up-and-coming players to help them out. So it was really cool."
On Saturday, fellow NBA legend Michael Jordan will present Bryant at the ceremony. According to The Athletic’s and Stadium sports network’s Shams Charania, Bryant's widow Vanessa will be speaking.
Before Thursday night’s Sixers game at the Miami Heat, head coach Rivers spoke about Jordan presenting Kobe.
"It’s still sad that Kobe cannot get the award and give his own speech. And so, I think for most of us, that will be more of a reminder of that. Not even what Michael says. The fact that Michael is doing it is important. Whenever Michael speaks, it seems important, because he doesn’t speak a lot .... It’ll be an amazing weekend," Rivers said.
In addition to Bryant, the 2020 class is stacked with greats such as Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett.