Hall of Fame ceremony for Rudy Tomjanovich delayed until 2021

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony for the 2020 class — including former Rockets coach ‘Rudy T’ — will be delayed to 2021.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated limitations on large gatherings, the scheduled 2020 enshrinement ceremony for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will be delayed until 2021.

The event had been slated for August 28-30 at the Hall of Fame site in Springfield, Massachusetts. Besides former Rockets coach and player Rudy Tomjanovich, other inductees in the 2020 class include recent NBA All-Stars Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and the late Kobe Bryant.

Jerry Colangelo, chairman of the Hall of Fame Board of Governors, told ESPN that there will be separate ceremonies for the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021, even though both events now will be held in the calendar year 2021. “We won’t be combining them,” Colangelo said in a statement to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan. “The Class of 2020 is a very special class and deserves its own celebration.”

In his 11-plus seasons as head coach in Houston, Tomjanovich led the Rockets to a 503-397 (.559) regular-season record and a 51-39 (.567) mark in the NBA playoffs, headlined by two championships in 1994 and 1995. He is by far the winningest coach in franchise history.

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Besides his coaching allocades, Tomjanovich was also a dynamic player ⁠— with averages of 17.4 points and 8.1 rebounds in 33.5 minutes per game. He was a five-time All-Star at power forward over 11 NBA seasons.

Whenever ‘Rudy T’ is inducted, he has enlisted Rockets legends Calvin Murphy and Hakeem Olajuwon to formally present him at the ceremony.

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