LeBron & CP3: First-Ever Active Players in Hall of Fame

While they are still in operation at 40, LeBron James And Chris Paul entered the Hall of Fame this night, and this is a first in the history of the Basketball Pantheon!

Immortalized with the famous orange jacket, the two friends, however, entered individually, since they were inducted as a member of the “Redeem Team”.

After several significant failures, the American Federation had decided to send the big armada with the duo Paul-Lebron therefore, but also Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Jason Kidd and even Kobe Bryant. Died in 2020, Kobe’s shadow hired on this ceremony, and LeBron paid tribute to him for his impact on this winning team of the 2008 Olympic Games in Pekin.

Make proud kobe

“I think he was just the missing link we needed to find this domination with Team USA. He brought a real seriousness to the team. He forced us to stay concentrated, and once he has signed up, we knew that we could not do things halfway ” explains LeBron James. “Kobe would not have accepted it. So that pushed us, me, CP, D-Wade, Melo … to commit us even more, because we wanted to show him that we could reach this level too. »»

At the time, Kobe will be 30 years old. He already has three titles in his pocket, but he comes out of a lost final in front of the Celtics. There is revenge in the air … “It was an honor to be on the ground with him. I was 23, and had already won titles ” recalls LeBron. “There were levels I wanted to reach. I believe that D-Wade had already won one too. So, we just wanted to arrive at his level and make him proud. And at the end of this route, when we brandished the gold medal on the podium, we certainly made it proud. »»

Dwyane Wade remembers training …

By his side, Dwyane Wade remembers the training of this “redeem team”.

“It was merciless! Coach k formed incredible teams: LeBron, Kobe, Melo, Dwight … And I was with Chris, Deron Williams, Chris (Bosh), Tayshaun, Boozer … We, the guys from the bench, we knew that when we entered, we had to keep the level. The competition was fierce every day ” tells Dwyane Wade. “We had this little Tigy leader (Chris Paul) who exploded at that time too. He had just finished second in the MVP vote. So he was ready. It was exactly what we needed. We were all ultra-competitive. Of course, we were in the same team, but as soon as we changed his jersey in training, it was: ‘We go!’ »»