NBA All-Star 2020: Watch Kobe Bryant and Others Selected as Finalists for Hall of Fame Class

Kobe Bryant is one step closer to the Hall of Fame. On Friday, The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced their finalists for the class of 2020 and Bryant leads the way. The other finalists are Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Tamika Catchings, Kim Mulkey, Rudy Tomjanovich, Barbara Stevens, Eddie Sutton.

Bryant fans won’t have to worry about him not being a member of the Hall of Fame class because he will be posthumously inducted due to him dying in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26 along with his 13-year old daughter Gianna and even other victims.

“Expected to be arguably the most epic class ever with Kobe, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett,” Colangelo said to Shams Charania of The Athletic. “Kobe will be honored the way he should be.”

Bryant was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996-2016. He helped the Lakers win five NBA Championships from 2000-2010 and he was named MVP in 2008. Bryant was also named to the All-Star Game 18 times and won the All-Star Game MVP award four times which ties an NBA record.

The question now his who will induct Bryant into the Hall of Fame? In an interview with Complex in 2017, Bryant revealed the two people he had in mind.

‘In terms of who might present, for me it’s two people: Michael Jordan or Phil Jackson,” Bryant revealed. “They’ve been the greatest mentors, not only in my career as an athlete, but also as a person. And what I might say is just a lot of thank yous. ‘Cause I’ve had a lotta help along the way. A lotta lotta help.”

Another thing Bryant mentioned in the interview was his daughter Gianna. She aspired to be a great basketball player like Bryant and he gave her some advice.

“Get better every day,” he said. That’s all. You have really lofty ambitions and dreams that can materialize 15 or 20 years from now, but the only way to get there is to get better every day. A little bit every day. That’s it. Then when you fast forward years from now, and all of a sudden you look back and you have this great thing you created. The Sistine Chapel was not created in one day. It was done piece by piece. And that’s the same way we live. That’s certainly what I tell my daughters.”