Michael Jordan Presenting Kobes Hall of Fame enshrinement

Michael Jordan Presenting Kobes Hall of Fame enshrinement

The enshrinement of the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020 will take place in May; after a long delay due to COVID-19. The Hall announced on Tuesday the names of the presenters who will honor all of the new inductees on that special weekend.

At the top of everyone’s mind, of course, is Kobe Bryant. His induction, which was originally supposed to take place seven months after his tragic January 2020 death in a helicopter crash; will be incredibly emotional. The Hall chose 2009 inductee Michael Jordan to be the presenter for Bryant’s induction.

Jordan, who overlapped with Bryant in the NBA for four seasons (not including the three years Jordan retired in the early 2000s); gave an emotional speech at Bryant’s memorial service in February 2020.

Kim Mulkey, the current coach of the Baylor Lady Bears, will also be presented by Jordan. He’s the only one pulling double duty on the 2020 slate.

Michael Jordan Presenting Kobes Hall of Fame

Jordan presenting for Bryant is the most intriguing pairing given the history between the two. Bryant idolized Jordan growing up, & he molded his game after him; which was clear to anyone who watched the two play. Once Bryant made it to the NBA, he made it his goal to soak up as much knowledge as he possibly could from Jordan, and over time the two developed a strong bond. Bryant ultimately went on to pass Jordan on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, and at the time he referred to Jordan as a “big brother”.

“We hit it off very well,” Bryant said. “He was really like a big brother, & whether it’s because we see things in a similar way in terms of our competitive spirit or fire or whatever the case may be; there’s an understanding that we have — a connection that we have.”

Jordan embraced that role, and tried to fulfill it to the best of his duties. He spoke at Bryant’s memorial service nearly one month after the Lakers legend’s fatal helicopter crash last year, and he made it clear exactly how much Bryant meant to him.

“Kobe was my dear friend; he was like a little brother,” Jordan said. “When Kobe died, a little piece of me died… This kid had passion like you would never know. As I got to know him, I wanted to be the best big brother that I could be.”

For Jordan, being selected to present for Bryant by his family is an enormous honor; and certainly not one that he will take for granted. That moment promises to be one of the most memorable from the entire ceremony.

The Enshrinement Ceremony is scheduled to be held on Saturday, May 15 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The ceremony was initially in October 2020; but rescheduled to its current date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be the first time that the event is held at Mohegan Sun, as it’s typically held in Springfield, Massachusetts. Safety was cited as the main reason for the change of venue.

“For this single event; and only because of the pandemic. We will relocate the entire event one time to Mohegan Sun; which has been a long-time marketing partner of the Hall. Mohegan Sun has shown they can effectively operate a ‘near-bubble’ for our event; which provides a more secure environment for our guests,” Hall of Fame President John Doleva said in a statement.