The Big 3: Hall of Fame night awaits Duncan, Garnett, Bryant

Kobe. Timmy. KG.

The full names weren’t necessary. The first name, or even the initials, were enough. Such was the star power that Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett carried throughout their careers and still possess, all of them now five years removed from their final games as NBA greats. Each was an NBA champion, an MVP, an Olympic gold medalist, annual locks for All-Star and All-Defensive teams.

And now, the ultimate honor comes their way: On Saturday night in Uncasville, Connecticut, they all officially become members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

“I like to think that all three of us pushed each other to be the best that we could be,” Garnett said last year, shortly after learning that he was part of the same class with Bryant and Duncan. “To be going in such a class like this, I’m more than honored.”

The combined numbers for the trio are impressive: 11 championships (with Bryant and Duncan getting five apiece), 48 All-Star nods, more than 86,000 career points, and roughly $900 million in NBA salaries — a figure that doesn’t take into account their off-court earnings. Bryant is the No. 4 scorer in NBA history, Duncan 15th, Garnett 18th.

Their star power is so bright that the Hall of Fame changed its rules for a year: For the 2020 class the electors enacted a one-year suspension of direct elections from the Veteran’s, Women’s Veteran’s, Early African-American Pioneers and Contributors categories.

The electors didn’t want any deserving nominee from those groups overlooked.

“When we selected this group for induction, we immediately knew that this would be, maybe, one of the great classes of all-time,” said Jerry Colangelo, the chairman of the Hall of Fame’s Board of Governors. “I mean, the people going in, the three headliners in Kobe and...