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“As a wife and mother, I have thought a lot about what Vanessa Bryant has been going through this past year. I was touched hearing her speak with such courage and strength this past weekend at the Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony honoring Kobe, and I am proud to join so many others in building upon Gianna’s legacy by supporting the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation,” Obama said in her post
“@VanessaBryant, all my love to you and the girls and the next generation of athletes you are working to empower. #PlayGigisWay ❤️.”
Vanessa Bryant was joined by basketball legend Michael Jordan to pay tribute to Kobe during his enshrinement ceremony at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Vanessa Bryant pays tribute to Kobe Bryant at Hall of Fame induction ceremony By Vritti Rashi Goel
May 15, 2021 / 10:52 PM / CBS News
Kobe Bryant was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday as part of a star-studded Class of 2020. At the enshrinement ceremony in Uncasville, Connecticut, the 5-time NBA Champion who died in a helicopter accident in January 2020 along with his daughter Gianna and seven other people was presented by his idol, Michael Jordan, while his wife, Vanessa, gave a moving speech. I used to always avoid praising my husband in public because I felt like he got enough praise from his fans around the world and someone had to bring him back to reality, Vanessa said. Right now, I m sure he s laughing in heaven because I m about to praise him in public for his accomplishments on one of the most public stages. I can see him now, arms folded, with a huge grin, saying, Isn t this some s t
“Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!” the crowd shouted.
With that, he was officially, finally a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Kobe Bryant is in the Hall now, along with contemporaries Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, headliners of a group of nine who got their delayed and long-awaited enshrinement on Saturday night, more than a year after being announced as the Hall’s Class of 2020.
“Right now, I’m sure he’s laughing in heaven, because I’m about to praise him in public,” Vanessa Bryant said.
And she did, her purple dress matching the traditional Los Angeles Lakers color, capping the night by giving the speech that her husband was not here to deliver.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) Vanessa Bryant got a private tour to see some of the newly remodeled Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday, viewing the exhibit that will honor the life and legacy of her late husband before the rest of the world gets their first look.
By the Hall’s description, it’s an exhibit like none other.
Fitting, for a special Hall of Fame enshrinement class.
Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett officially become members of the Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday night, the headline event of a three-day celebration of the game. They were rivals for the better part of two decades, three of the faces of the league throughout a critical period of growth for the league, and there is some symmetry in how they’ll enter the Hall together.