"You did it, you are a true champion": almost fourteen months after his disappearance, Kobe Bryant was officially inducted into the Hall of Fame, Saturday, during a ceremony marked by the moving words of his widow Vanessa, accompanied by her idol, Michael Jordan. This ceremony of the 2020 class, postponed last year because of the coronavirus and relocated to Uncasville (Connecticut), was also that of two other players who marked the league, at the same time as the former five-time champion with the Lakers: Tim Duncan, also five times titled with San Antonio, and Kevin Garnett, winner of a ring with Boston.
The most anticipated moment was nonetheless when Vanessa Bryant would speak in place of her late husband. Delicate exercise which she had carried out with courage at Staples Center in Los Angeles, in February 2020, during the tribute paid a few weeks after her death in a helicopter crash, which occurred on January 26 in Calabasas, near Los Angeles. , and also fatal to his daughter Gianna, 13, and the other seven crew members.
Once again, the emotion was at the rendezvous in front of an audience of stars of the league who had made an appointment for the occasion.
Michael Jordan, standing at his side, struggled to suppress a tear when Vanessa Bryant thanked him for agreeing to introduce Kobe: “He admired you.
It means so much to us. ”
“I wish my husband was here so much.
He and Gigi deserve to be there to see this.
He would have a long list of people to thank who inspired him and empowered him to enter the Hall of Fame.
Family, friends, mentors, the Lakers, teammates and opponents, ”she said.
"One of the largest"
“I always avoided praising my husband in public because I felt like he was getting enough from his fans all over the world and someone needed to bring him back to reality.
Right now I'm sure he's laughing in heaven because I'm about to congratulate him on his accomplishments on one of the most public stages ever, ”she said.
"He once said to me: 'If you have to bet on someone, bet on yourself'.
I am happy that you bet on yourself because you have excelled (...) you are one of the greatest of all time, ”concluded Vanessa Bryant, in front of her daughters Natalia, Capri and Bianka.
Vanessa Bryant on her ever-lasting love for Kobe.
# 20HoopClasspic.twitter.com / SPsmSoSKaX
- NBA (@NBA) May 16, 2021
Earlier, Kevin Garnett shared his "great regret not being able to bring home a title in Minnesota" where he played for 14 years, which he managed to do with the Boston Celtics in 2008. He also has mentioned his duels with Tim Duncan. “It was epic. I looked forward to all these battles. And I thank you for bringing me to another level. ” The latter returned politeness to him: “To Kevin and the late Kobe, thank you. You forced me to give the best of myself and that brought me the best around me. ”
The former Spurs winger also paid tribute to the man who was his coach for 19 years, Gregg Popovich.
"Thank you for teaching me basketball, but also for teaching me that it's not just that, that there is everything that happens in the world, that there is family.
Thank you for being the extraordinary human being that you are, ”he said, moved.
Also inducted were former coach Rudy Tomjanovich, two-time champion (1994, 1995) with Houston and former women's league star (WNBA) Tamika Catchings.
Welcome home # 20HoopClass.
pic.twitter.com/p8XCIy7M30
- HOF Basketball (@Hoophall) May 16, 2021
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