UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Vanessa Bryant got a private tour to see some of the newly remodeled Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday, viewing the exhibit that will honor the life and legacy of her late husband before the rest of the world gets its first look.
By the Hall's description, it's an exhibit like none other.
Fitting for a special Hall of Fame enshrinement class.
Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Eddie Sutton and five others officially become members of the Basketball Hall of Fame tonight, the headline event of a three-day celebration of the game.
Bryant is one of three members of the class who will be enshrined posthumously. Longtime FIBA executive Patrick Baumann will be represented by his son and daughter, and Sutton -- a former University of Arkansas coach -- will be represented by his son Sean.
"We were excited that he was alive to hear the news," Sean Sutton said of his father, who passed away about six weeks after the 2020 class was announced. "I know it meant a great deal to him."
Eddie Sutton ranks ninth all-time with 806 career college victories and was a three-time Final Four coach. He was the first coach to lead four different schools -- Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State -- to the NCAA Tournament. He was an eight-time conference coach of the year and a two-time recipient of The Associated Press National Coach of the Year (1978, 1986).
Sutton took the Razorbacks to the Final Four in 1978 and returned with Oklahoma State in 1995 and 2004. He coached at Arkansas from 1974-85, compiling an overall record of 260-75.
Bryant, Duncan and Garnett were rivals for the better part of two decades, three of the faces of the league.
"You can go through the list of NBA greats," Garnett said Friday. "I couldn't pick two better players -- not just that, but two better people -- to go in the Hall with. Both of these are class acts and unbelievable players."
The celebration kicked off Friday at the Mohegan Sun Casino and will peak today with the actual inductions. Then Sunday, about an hour away in Springfield, Mass., the remodeled Hall of Fame will be formally unveiled, and the 2021 class that will be enshrined there this September will be announced.
Others being enshrined this weekend include 1,000-game winner Barbara Stevens, two-time NBA champion coach Rudy Tomjanovich, three-time NCAA champion coach Kim Mulkey, and four-time women's Olympic gold medalist Tamika Catchings.
Some of them spoke Friday of their modest beginnings and how reflecting on those days made the emotions for this weekend churn even stronger.
Stevens said she thought she hit the jackpot when she landed her first coaching job as an assistant at Clark University for $400 in 1976. Tomjanovich said he didn't feel ready when he was offered the Houston Rockets job. Mulkey talked about her days as a pigtailed girl playing Pony League baseball with the boys in the little Louisiana town where she grew up.
"I just hope I don't bawl like a big doofus," Tomjanovich said.
Garnett still insists he was a risk when the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted him out of high school. Duncan grew up as a swimmer, not a basketball player. Yet here they all are, set to become basketball immortals.
"On behalf of our family, we appreciate the continuous love and support from fans all over the world," Vanessa Bryant said in a statement distributed through the Hall of Fame. She will speak on her husband's behalf tonight at the enshrinement, with Michael Jordan doing the honors of presenting Bryant to the Hall.
The Hall urges honorees to keep the speeches tight. For some like Duncan, San Antonio's notoriously quiet superstar, that might not be a problem. For others, the stories will likely flow, as has been the case many times over the years.
"My message is the same: It's a simple thank you," Duncan said. "I'm honored to be here, but my years there and my years on the court are not the same without the people and the fans, without their support. As much as they are honoring me, I'll be here to thank them."
At a glance
NBA HALL OF FAME
ENSHRINEMENT CEREMONY
WHEN 4:30 p.m. Central
WHERE Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Conn.
TV ESPN
