On the weekend of what was supposed to be NCAA’s Final Four, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced today their Class of 2020.

As expected, the triumvirate of Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett have all been selected for Springfield.  They comprised the top three in our most recent Notinhalloffame.com list of those to consider for the Hall.

Kobe Bryant tragically passed away along with eight other people (including his daughter, Gianna) in a helicopter crash.  Bryant played his entire pro career with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he would lead the Lake Show to five NBA Championships.  Individually, he would win the 2007-08 MVP, was a 15-time All-Star and was a First Team All-NBA Selection 11 times. Internationally, Bryant won the Olympic Gold Medal twice with the United States (2008 & 2012).

Like Bryant, Tim Duncan played his entire career with one team, his being the San Antonio Spurs.  “The Big Fundamental” took the Spurs to five titles, and he was a two-time MVP.  Duncan went to 15 All-Star Games, was a 10-time First Team All-NBA Selection, an eight-time All-Defensive First Team honoree, and was the Rookie of the Year. At Wake Forest, he was also the Consensus National College Player of the Year in 1997.

Kevin Garnett did not spend his career with one team, but he is easily the greatest Minnesota Timberwolves player ever.  It was in Minnesota where he won his MVP, but he would later help the Boston Celtics win the NBA Championship in 2008, while also winning the Defensive Player of the Year.  Garnett went to 15 All-Star Games, was a four-time First Team All-NBA Selection, and would be an All-Defensive First Teamer.  

Also chosen was Eddie Sutton.  With a career record of 806-326, Sutton went to three Final Fours (one with Arkansas and two with Oklahoma State), and he was a two-time AP College Coach of the Year.  Sutton was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.

A five-time NBA All-Star, Rudy Tomjonavich was a Head Coach for the Hosuton Rockets from 1992 to 2003.  He took the Rockets to the NBA Championship in 1994 and 1995, and the United States to Olympic Gold in 2000.

All five male Finalists got in, as did all three female finalists, which were Tamika Catchings, Kim Mulkey and Barbara Stevens:

Tamika Catchings won four Olympic Gold Medals for the United States, and took the Indiana Fever to a WNBA Title in 2012.  Individually in the WNBA, Catchings went to 11 All-Star Games, was a one-time MVP, and a five-time Defensive Player of the Year.

Kim Mulley has led the Baylor Bears to three championships as their Head Coach, and she also won as a player and Assistant Coach.  She was the Coach of the Year in 2012.

Barbara Stevens was a five-time Division II Coach of the Year, and was the fifth female coach to win 1,000 Games.

Patrick Baumann enters as a Contributor.  He Swiss executive was the President of the Global Association of International Sports Federations and the Secretary General of FIBA. He passed away in 2018 at the age of 51 due to a heart attack.

We will begin the reworking of our Notinhalloffame.com Basketball List.  Look for that later this month.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the newest members of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

It was announced today that R&B/Soul/Pop legend, Bill Withers died last Monday at the age of 81 due to heart complications.

Born in West Virginia, Withers moved to Los Angeles in 1967 seeking a career in music after a nine-year career in the military.  He put out his first album in 1971, which included the hit, “Ain’t No Sunshine”.  Later hits in the 1970s and early 1980s would include “Lean on Me”, “Use Me”, “Lovely Day” and “Just the Two of Us”.  He would win two Grammys and was chosen for the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, family and fans of Bill Withers.

Didn’t we just write this?

We did, but The Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced that they will be postponing their induction for the Class of 2020 until 2021, specifically on June 10, 2021 in New York City. The announcement came today from SHOF Chairman, Nile Rodgers.

The Class of 2020 comprises Mariah Carey, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart (The Eurythmics), The Isley Brothers, Steve Miller, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo (The Neptunes), Rick Nowels, William Stevenson, Paul Williams and Jody Gerson.

It is not known at this time whether there will be an additional class in 2021, or whether that will be cancelled in its own right to focus on this group.

The International Boxing Hall of Fame has announced that the Hall of Game weekend is officially cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.  It was scheduled for this June.  

Rather than simply announce a postponement, they announced that they will be honored at the 2021 induction ceremony.  The official plaques will however be at display at the Hall starting in June.

The Class of 2020 is comprised of boxers, Bernard Hopkins, Juan Manuel Marquez, “Sugar” Shane Mosely, Frank Erne, Paddy Ryan, the first female boxing honorees, Barbara Buttrick, Christy Martin, Lucia Rijker.  Promoters Low DiBella, Kathy Duva and Dan Goosen as well as journalists Bernard Fernandez and Thomas Hauser were also part of thte class.