Kobe Bryant was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday as part of a star-studded Class of 2020. Vanessa Bryant, widow of Kobe Bryant, presented their daughter Natalia with Bryant's Hall of Fame jacket at the 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame awards. The most memorable part of her speech was when she stated "Many People don’t know this, but one of the reasons my husband played through injuries and pain was because he said he remembered being a little kid, sitting in the nosebleeds with his dad to watch his favorite player play,” Vanessa Bryant said, looking back at Jordan. “He could recall the car ride, the talks and the excitement of being lucky enough to have a seat in the arena. Kobe didn’t want to disappoint his fans, especially the ones in the 300 section that saved up to watch him play, the kids with the same excitement he once had.
“I remember asking him why he couldn’t sit a game out because he was hurting. He said, ‘What about the fans who saved up to watch me play just once?’ He never forgot about his fans. If he could help it, he would play every minute of every game. He loved you all so much.”