NBA
When was Kobe Bryant inducted into the NBA hall of fame?
It has been two years since the death of world-famous NBA superstar Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash outside of Los Angeles shocked the world of sports.
It’s been two years since the world of sports was devastated by news of the death of Kobe Bryant, who is recognized by many as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
The 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player had an extraordinary 20-year run with the league, which he spent exclusively with the Los Angeles Lakers.
His professional basketball career began after he became the first guard to be drafted to the NBA straight out of high school. This was just one of the many distinctions he was to earn during his stellar career.
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A long story of basketball excellence
The basketball legend helped the Lakers clinch five NBA championships, was an NBA Finals MVP two times, was the first guard in league history to play for 20 seasons, scored 81 points in a single game, and won two gold medals at the Summer Olympics as part of the US national team.
The former Laker racked up a host of other records and awards until he retired after the 2015-16 season.
One of the most recent honors the Black Mamba received was being chosen to be part of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, also known as the NBA 75.
Officially a Hall of Famer
The 18-time NBA All-Star was formally inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on the evening of May 15, 2021 as part of the Class of 2020. His wife Vanessa Bryant gave a powerful and moving speech during the induction ceremony, where she was joined onstage by basketball icon Michael Jordan.
Bryant was posthumously voted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, only a few months after he was killed in a helicopter crash which also claimed the lives of his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people.