Lakers Pay Tribute To Kobe, Gianna At First Game Since Deadly Crash
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Ahead of Friday's Lakers game, the first since Kobe Bryant's death, Staples Center was decked out to honor Mamba and his daughter, Gianna.
Shirts bearing the numbers 8 and 24 were draped over every seat in the stadium, filling it with bright gold — two courtside seats reserved for Bryant and Gianna's jerseys.
James and the rest of the team warmed up before the game against the Portland Trailblazers wearing Bryant's jerseys as members of Gigi's Mamba Sports Academy team sat courtside and watched.
The tribute to Mamba started with his jerseys illuminated in the rafters as the crowd chanted MVP before Usher began his moving performance of "Amazing Grace," that brought the stadium to silence.
Cellist Ben Hong from the Los Angeles Philharmonic took the court among floral arrangements with the numbers 8 and 24 playing "Hallelujah" as a video of highlights from Bryant's career —narrated by the man himself — played before the audience.
"It's not about the jerseys that are hanging up there for me," Bryant said in the video. "It's about the jerseys that were hanging up before."
From clips of his achievements as a player to images of the Bryant family hugging, smiling and laughing together, the retrospective played out in the darkness of the stadium, lights dimmed in Bryant's honor.
PHOTOS: Lakers Return To Staples Center Following Kobe Bryant's Death
But it wasn't just Bryant who was on that plane.
The Lakers held a 24.2-second moment of silence for all of the victims of Sunday's helicopter crash followed by the national anthem performed by Boyz II Men, as a tearful LeBron James bowed his head.
"I know at some point we will have a memorial for Kobe, but I look at this as a celebration tonight," James said after scrapping his written speech. "This is a celebration of the 20 years of the blood, the sweat, the tears, the broken down body ... the determination to be as great as he could be. Tonight we celebrate the kid who came here at 18 years of age, retired at 38 and became probably the best dad we've seen over the past few years, man."
After the pregame ceremony, every single Lakers player was introduced as Kobe Bryant as fans cheered.
The game started with the Lakers and the Trailblazers taking 24-second and 8-second violations, respectively.
Ultimately, though, the Lakers came up short, falling to the Blazers 127-119.
Earlier in the day, Lakers star LeBron James unveiled his latest tattoo — a tribute to a man James called his brother.