Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett are Named Finalist for the 2020 Hall of Fame Class

Tim Duncan

This player out of Wake Forest University was the first overall selection in the 1997 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs. Tim Duncan played his entire fabulous 19 year NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs as well. He is a five time NBA champion (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014) that was named the NBA Finals MVP three of those years (1999, 2003, 2005). Duncan was the MVP of the NBA twice (2002, 2003). This big man made the NBA All Star Team 15 times (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015). In 2000 he was the MVP of the All Star Game.

Duncan was named to the All NBA First Team 10 times (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2013), the All NBA Second Team 3 times (2006, 2008, 2009), and the All NBA Third Team 2 times (2010, 2015). He found himself on the NBA All Defensive First Team 8 times (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008) as well as the NBA All Defensive Second Team 7 times (1998, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015). This only goes to show you how well rounded of a player Duncan was as he was outstanding on the offensive and defensive side of the court.

This power forward/center won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1998 as he was obviously on the NBA All Rookie First Team after the 1997 – 1998 season. In 2015 he was named the NBA Teammate of the Year. In 2003, Duncan won both the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year Award as well as the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.

He was honored by the San Antonio Spurs when they retired his number 21 jersey which the Wake Forest Demon Deacons also did in his honor. Duncan was known for being extremely fundamentally sound more than an electric or fun to watch superstar, but his consistency and pursuit of greatness made him one of the best players the NBA https://wizardofvegas.com/articles/adam-silver-and-the-nba-react/ has ever seen.

Kevin Garnett

The Minnesota Timberwolves selected Kevin Garnett 5th overall in the 1995 NBA Draft behind Joe Smith, Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse, and Rasheed Wallace. Garnett played for the Minnesota Timberwolves from 1995 to 2007, the Boston Celtics from 2007 to 2013, the Brooklyn Nets from 2013 to 2015, and the Minnesota Timberwolves for a second time from 2015 to 2016.

In 2008, Garnett finally became an NBA Champion with the Boston Celtics. He won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 2004. This dominant power forward / center was selected to the NBA All Star Game 15 times (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013), and he won the All Star Game MVP in 2003. Four times Garnett was named to the All NBA First Team (2000, 2003, 2004, 2008, the All NBA Second Team three times (2001, 2002, 2005), and the All NBA Third Team twice (1999, 2007).

In 2008, Garnett won the Defensive Player of the Year Award. He was on the NBA All Defensive First Team nine times (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011) as well as the NBA All Defensive Second Team three times (2006, 2007, 2012). During four seasons Garnett was the NBA rebounding champion (2004, 2005, 2006, 2006). In 2006 he won the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. In 1995 he was named Mr. Basketball USA, Illinois Mr. Basketball, and he was the McDonald’s All American Game MVP. Kevin Garnett was a First Team Parade All American in 1994 and 1995.

Media Statements

"He'd probably think this is pretty awesome right here," says Garnett. "The Hall of Fame is something you don't really think about. It just happens."

"[That's] because of the enormity -- even before Kobe's death -- that we think Kobe and Duncan and Garnett bring to it," Jerry Colangelo stated. "We've never had a class that strong at the top. And of course with Kobe's death, it added more focus.

"We thought the way of dealing with it was eliminating some direct-elects on a one-year basis. We have that flexibility, fortunately, to do it because some people could get lost in the shuffle, really, in terms of getting their due."

"No, no, no," Colangelo replied. "I have no idea where those things started. We have a process and you follow the process. When we met in Dallas after his death, we had to deal with that, and the way we dealt with it was we weren't going to submit a lot of names. We were going to make it a small class.

"We want everyone to get their due. It's important. It's sensitive. We have a job to do between now and the end of August, that it is that kind of a program and production. As sad as it all is, we have to deal with all of that, and life goes on in the world of basketball and the Hall of Fame and we don't want to take away from the people here who are the prospective inductees."

"It's hard to process," Mike Breen expressed. "I just love the game, and to be able to call the games ... to me, that was the lottery. That was hitting the jackpot for the rest of my life.

"To think that you were doing something that you love so much, and then they're going to give you this unbelievable award? I know it's a cliché, but it's overwhelming."

Sources:

“Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett headline Hall of Fame finalists”, Tim Bontemps, espn.com, February 14, 2020.

“Kobe Bryant”, basketball-reference.com, February 14, 2020.

“Tim Duncan”, basketball-reference.com, February 14, 2020.

“Kevin Garnett”, basketball-reference.com, February 14, 2020.