Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Delays Ceremonies for Class of 2020

The enshrinement ceremonies for the star-studded Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2020, which includes Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and the late Kobe Bryant, among others, will be moved to the spring of 2021. Jerry Colangelo, the chairman of the board of the governors for the Hall, relayed the news to ESPN's Jackie MacMullan on Wednesday.

The initial dates for the class' enshrinement were set for August 28-30.

"We're definitely canceling," Colangelo told ESPN. "It's going to have to be the first quarter of next year. We'll meet in a couple of weeks and look at the options of how and when and where."

The museum has been closed since early February as it looks to complete its $23 million renovations. It was initially set to reopen on March 25, but delayed its opening amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Hall says on its website it is set to open July 1. 

Even though both the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021 will be inducted in the same calendar year, Colangelo told ESPN that the two groups will be enshrine separately.

"We won't be combining them," he said. "The Class of 2020 is a very special class and deserves its own celebration."

Alongside Duncan, Bryant and Garnett, WNBA star Tamika Catchings, FIBA executive Patrick Baumann and coaches Rudy Tomjanovich, Kim Mulkey, Barbara Stevens and Eddie Sutton, who died on Saturday at age 84, round out the Class of 2020. Bryant, Duncan, Garnett and Catchings were first-time nominees. Finalists needed 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee to be elected into the Hall of Fame.