Tag: 2020 basketball hall of fame class

Garnett, 2020 HoF class to be inducted in May, 2021 at Mohegan Sun

Celtics legend Kevin Garnett and the rest of the 2020 Naismith Hall of Fame class will be inducted from Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun casino in 2021.

Those among us who have been patiently waiting for Kevin Garnett’s Hall of Fame acceptance speech are going to have to wait a while longer; the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn reports that the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame 2020 Class induction ceremony has been delayed until May 13th – 15th 2021.

Inducted into one of the most high-profile classes in Hall of Fame history along with recently-passed Los Angeles Lakers luminary Kobe Bryant, WNBA legend Tamika Catchings and San Antonio Spurs superstar Tim Duncan, KG finds his post-playing career recognition interrupted by the scourge of a virus in much the way it had put the league he excelled in on hold.

The Springfield, Massachusetts museum had been hoping to re-open by July 4th earlier this spring.

Unfortunately, the Hall has had to dial back those plans — presumably due to ongoing safety concerns — pushing the Big Ticket’s induction ceremony into an entirely different year than his class was inducted in.

Even more unusual, Garnett’s class will be inducted in Connecticut, at the Mohegan Sun casino, according to the Associated Press.

Pandemic-related budget cuts and safety concerns were cited as reasons for the unusual turn of planned events.

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KG, ’20 Hall of Fame class might have to wait until 2021 for induction

Boston Celtics legendary big man Kevin Garnett and the rest of the 2020 Hall of Fame class might have to wait until 2021 to be inducted.

Boston Celtics big man luminary Kevin Garnett and the rest of the 2020 Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame class may have to wait until some time in 2021 if the viral pandemic currently gripping Massachusetts and the rest of the planet doesn’t let up in time.

Currently shuttered with the state continuing to be under a stay-at-home-order due to the risk of COVID-19 transmission, the Springfield institution hopes to reopen to the public some time between mid-June and the fourth of July, reports MassLive’s Jim Kinney.

The hope is that using new safety protocols and other precautions will be enough to make the venue safe for reopening at that point, though John L. Doleva, president and CEO of the Hall related the situation might change, presumably based on how the pandemic progresses.

Should the pandemic linger or rebound and force a delay in the Hall’s 2020 class induction ceremony — currently slated for late August — into October, the class could see the formal induction pushed back to 2021.

The 2020 Hall of Fame Class is comprised of 18-time All-Star and five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant (who tragically passed in a helicopter accident this year), 15-time All-Star Tim Duncan, and 10-time WNBA All-Star Tamika Catchings in addition to Garnett and several others.

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Garnett to be inducted into Hall of Fame with Kobe, Tim Duncan, others

Boston Celtics big man Kevin Garnett will be elected to the Hall of Fame alongside Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and others.

Boston Celtics legendary big man Kevin Garnett will be officially inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, reports The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

He will join contemporary luminaries Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant — the latter of whom will be inducted posthumously after passing in a tragic helicopter accident earlier this year — and several others in being nominated to the 2020 Hall of Fame Class.

The official announcement is to come Saturday, according to Charania.

Garnett, who won a banner in Boston at the end of the 2007-08 NBA Season, was also named league Most Valued Player in 2004, was elected to 15 All-Star games, nine All-NBA teams and twelve NBA All-Defensive teams among many other honors, played a total of 22 seasons in the league.

He started and ended his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, playing 14 seasons with the franchise.

KG was a Celtic for six seasons and a Brooklyn Net for two in-between, averaging 17.8 points, 10 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.4 blocks per game over his career.

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Kevin Garnett gets nomination for 2020 Hall of Fame class

Kevin Garnett was nominated for the Hall of Fame on Thursday, giving fans a chance to think back on his successful time as a Celtic.

As the 2019-20 Boston Celtics continue work on their regular season campaign in a hotly-contested Eastern Conference, Thursday provided an opportunity for Celtics fans to do a little reminiscing. That opportunity came courtesy of the announcement that former Celtic Kevin Garnett was officially nominated for the 2020 Hall of Fame class.

Garnett spent six seasons in Boston, averaging 15.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and one block. He was an All-Star in five of those six seasons, adding a Defensive Player of the Year award, a First Team All-NBA selection, and four All-Defensive team honors (three first-teams, one second-team). Most importantly, he helped lead the Celtics to the NBA title in 2007-08.

During that championship run, Garnett averaged a double-double with 20.4 points and 10.5 rebounds, helping the Celtics take down the rival Lakers.

All told, Garnett piled up 15 All-Star selections, nine All-NBA teams and 12 All-Defensive teams. He won Rookie of the Year honors as well as an MVP, an All-Star Game MVP and the aforementioned Defensive Player of the Year, making him a shoo-in for the Hall.

Thursday gave fans a great chance to think back on The Big Ticket’s illustrious career and his contributions to Celtics tradition as he awaits his official call to the Hall, which is nothing more than a formality at this point.