SPRINGFIELD (USA) - The longtime FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann is to be posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

He is among the nine honorees to be named as finalists in the Class of 2020, which also includes the late Kobe Bryant, as well as Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Eddie Sutton, Rudy Tomjanovich, Tamika Catchings, Kim Mulkey and Barbara Stevens.

This year's distinguished class will be enshrined in Springfield, Massachusetts on Saturday, August 29, 2020.

Recognized posthumously for his contributions as a longtime FIBA executive and a member of the International Olympic Committee, Patrick Baumann was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame directly by the International Committee.

Mr. Baumann served as FIBA Secretary General from 2003 until October of 2018, when he died of heart attack while attending the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina. 

His memory was also honored with the FIBA headquarters in Mies, Switzerland renamed to the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball. 

One of the game's most beloved athletes and also the Global Ambassador of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, Kobe Bryant is also set to be recognized posthumously by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Global Ambassador Kobe Bryant is also in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2020

The two-time Olympic gold medalist, FIBA Americas Championship winner in 2007 and five-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers died tragically in a helicopter crash earlier this year. 

Finalists from the North American and Women's Committees must receive 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

FIBA