Joel Embiid Honors Kobe, Gianna Bryant With Special Sneakers For Sixers-Lakers
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Sixers big man Joel Embiid is paying tribute to Kobe and Gianna Bryant during tonight's Sixers-Lakers game with special shoes. It comes just after the one-year anniversary of the devastating helicopter crash which claimed the lives of the Lakers, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others.
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 28, 2021
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Embiid fell in love with basketball as a kid in Cameroon while watching Bryant's Lakers career.
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Joel Embiid's new shoes tonight against the Los Angeles Lakers paying tribute to the late Kobe and Gianna Bryant. Embiid fell in love with basketball watching Bryant as kid in Cameroon. pic.twitter.com/xPcYGcvVfP
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 27, 2021
Current Sixers head coach Doc Rivers took some time to share memories of the legend.
"I had a competitive relationship with him, I had a personal relationship with him. That was a difficult day for everybody, it's still difficult when you think about it," Rivers said.
Bryant, a Lower Merion High School grad, was remembered by his alma mater with a 33-second moment of silence Tuesday.
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