Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James wants Saturday's Hall of Fame induction of Kobe Bryant to be a celebration of the lasting legacy and storied career of the Lakers legend  — along with two of Bryant's fellow inductees, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.

“It's a celebration of greats,” James said in his on-court interview with Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet. “One of 'em happened to be a brother of ours with the Laker organization. Someone who set the tone for this organization for 20 years, in Kobe. It's an unbelievable time for himself, looking down on all the accomplishments he had, for his wife and his daughters, and for his daughter that's up there (who's) going to be watching alongside Kobe when they watch the enshrinement.”

James said it was a “beautiful thing” to see Kobe's widow, Vanessa, drape the Hall of Fame jacket on her eldest daughter, Natalia, on Friday.

“It's a beautiful time for the Lakers. It's a celebration for another Laker great, and just happy to be a part of his legacy,” he added.

A few minutes later, in his post-game Zoom with reporters, James expanded on star-studded 2020 class, headlined by three icons against whom LeBron James memorably competed throughout the first decade-plus of his career.

“It's probably one of the best classes that went in at the same time…I can't think of a better ‘Big 3' that went into the Hall of Fame at the same time…You look at Kobe's resume, KG's resume, and Timmy D's resume. Three of the best players to ever play this game. Three champions. Three Hall of Famers. Three MVPs. They got everything that you could ever want in this league … There has not been a better ‘Big 3' to go in at the same time.”

LeBron channeled the Mamba in his first game back from an ankle injury, scoring seven straight points in crunch-time to lead Los Angeles to a crucial victory over the Indiana Pacers.