Kobe Bryant Fans Heartbroken After His Induction To Basketball Hall Of Fame

Basketball fans waited for the time to celebrate the impact of Kobe Bryant to the sport, and that is through his induction to the Basketball Hall of Fame. What happened earlier this year, though, stole us the opportunity of seeing him take the podium.

The Hoop Hall announced that the Los Angeles Lakers great will make his way to the elite class of Basketball gods along with long-time rivals Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs and Kevin Garnett, who started and ended his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kobe was the 13^th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets and was traded to the Lakers where he spent all his 20 years in the league. Drafted out of high school from Pennsylvania at Lower Merion HS, he went on to become an 18-time NBA All-Star and being named All-Star MVP four times, five-time NBA champion including a three-peat in 2000 to 2002, and making a mark on both ends of the floor – was named NBA scoring champ twice and part of the NBA All-Defensive First Team nine times.

Since his retirement in 2016, the fans knew inside that what they’ve seen in 20 seasons of him being in the NBA is a Hall of Fame material. He ended his career with a 60-point game against the Utah Jazz and was met by loud cheers by the fans inside the Staples Center to give the 2008 NBA MVP a fitting send-off.

"Obviously we wish that he was here with us to celebrate, but it's definitely the peak of his NBA career and every accomplishment he had as an athlete was a stepping stone to be here,” said Kobe’s wife Vanessa Bryant per an interview and was written by CBS Sports. “So we're incredibly proud of him."

While nobody objected to the inclusion of the “Black Mamba” to this year’s inductees to the Hall of Fame, fans cannot help but become emotional as they aren’t going to hear Kobe take the stage and hear his speech. He and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna was killed in a helicopter crash on January 26 in Calabasas, CA.