Sixers To Pay Special Tribute To Philly Native Kobe Bryant At Tuesday's Game Against Warriors
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Sixers are planning to honor Kobe Bryant as they prepare to take the court for the first time since the tragic death of the hometown star. Sixers general manager Elton Brand announced plans to pay tribute to the late Kobe Bryant before the Sixers-Warriors game on Tuesday night.
Remembering Philadelphia Native, Basketball Legend Kobe Bryant
"We lost someone that's special to us and to this area and the league," Brand said. "We'll try to commemorate him tomorrow [Tuesday] and hopefully show how much this area loved him."
On top of Kobe being a native son of the Philadelphia area, his father, Joe Bryant, played for the Sixers for four years in the 1970s.
Philadelphia Honors Kobe Bryant With Purple Lights On City's Landmarks
Meantime, in Kobe's hometown of Lower Merion, Montgomery County, a steady stream of fans have been showing up to pay tribute since the tragic news of his death in a helicopter accident broke Sunday afternoon.
In Los Angeles, where tonight's Lakers and Clippers game is postponed, fans have been dropping off flowers and mementos, keeping vigil outside the Staples Center, also known as "The House Kobe Built."
"You're gonna always remember that text, that call, or when that first person told you," Kobe Bryant fan Taneshia O'Keith said. "I'll always remember where I was, what I was doing, and how the disbelief hits you and you're just praying the news was wrong."
So far, there is no word on exactly what the Sixers plan to do for the tribute.
The game starts at 7 p.m.
CBS3's Trang Do contributed to this report.