{"id":287496,"date":"2020-01-31T18:58:54","date_gmt":"2020-02-01T01:58:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/b1118361"},"modified":"2020-01-31T18:58:54","modified_gmt":"2020-02-01T01:58:54","slug":"kobe-bryant-honored-at-first-lakers-game-since-his-death-all-the-details-and-photos-from-inside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/music-news\/kobe-bryant-honored-at-first-lakers-game-since-his-death-all-the-details-and-photos-from-inside\/","title":{"rendered":"Kobe Bryant Honored at First Lakers Game Since His Death: All the Details and Photos From Inside"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tonight is the night to celebrate the life of Kobe Bryant<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

On Friday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers returned to the Staples Center for their first basketball game since the death<\/a> of Kobe. They will play against the Portland Trail Blazers.<\/p>\n

Before any ball was dribbled and shot was scored, the venue along with the NBA, teammates, coaches, fans and friends put together an inspiring tribute to celebrate the life of one legendary Lakers player.<\/p>\n

The sold-out crowd at tonight’s game is treated to Lakers shirts with Kobe’s no. 24, which were placed at their chairs. <\/p>\n

Tonight’s pre-game tribute comes after the NBA announced they will be making a joint donation<\/a> of $100,000 with the National Basketball Player Association to the MambaOnThree Foundation, which was created with the sole intention of providing support to the families who lost a loved one in the helicopter crash<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

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In addition, Vanessa Bryant<\/strong> recently broke her silence<\/a> on the death of her husband and daughter Gianna “Gigi” Maria-Onore Bryant<\/strong> on Instagram. In her powerful statement, the proud mom shared how fans can turn their pain into purpose.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

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“Thank you for sharing your joy, your grief and your support with us. We ask that you grant us the respect and privacy we will need to navigate this new reality,” she wrote in part. “To honor our Team Mamba family, the Mamba Sports Foundation has set up the MambaOnThree Fund to help support the other families affected by this tragedy. To donate, please go to MambaOnThree.org<\/a>. To further Kobe and Gianna’s legacy in youth sports, please visit MambaSportsFoundation.org<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

For those who missed out on tonight’s tributes, we have all the details from inside the Staples Center. Take a look at just some of the many powerful moments in our gallery below.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Lakers<\/div>\n

Hans Gutknecht\/Orange County Register via ZUMA Wire<\/p>\n

Usher <\/h3>\n
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Stars from far and wide are attending the Trailblazers v. Lakers game in honor of Kobe and Gianna.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Lakers<\/div>\n

Harry How\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Together Forever <\/h3>\n
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Kobe and Gianna’s jerseys are placed on their seats, alongside bouquets of roses.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Lakers<\/div>\n

Kevork Djansezian\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Legend <\/h3>\n
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The Lakers emblazon Kobe’s initials on the court.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Article continues below <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Lakers<\/div>\n

Kevork Djansezian\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Courtside <\/h3>\n
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Kobe is honored with his number on the court.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Lakers<\/div>\n

Harry How\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Gigi & Kobe <\/h3>\n
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The Lakers leave two seats open for Gianna and Kobe.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Lakers<\/div>\n

Adam Pantozzi\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

LeBron James <\/h3>\n
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After a devastating week, the basketball star keeps his head high as he heads into the Staples Center.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Article continues below <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Lakers<\/div>\n

Harry How\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Paying Tribute <\/h3>\n
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LeBron James arrives at the Staples Center ahead of the tribute.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Lakers<\/div>\n

Harry How\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Packed Auditorium <\/h3>\n
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All attendees of tonight’s game will receive a shirt with the iconic ’24’ in honor of Bryant. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Lakers<\/div>\n

Andrew D. Bernstein\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Mamba Forever <\/h3>\n
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Patches with the late basketball star’s initials are emblazoned across numerous Lakers merch. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Article continues below <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Lakers<\/div>\n

Andrew D. Bernstein\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Mambacita <\/h3>\n
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In honor of Kobe and Gigi, the Staples Center is changing their marquees.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Lakers<\/div>\n

Andrew D. Bernstein\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Fans Unite <\/h3>\n
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Scattered around the Staples Center are flowers, candles and other mementos gifted by fans. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Watch E! News<\/i> weekday mornings at 7 a.m. and don’t miss our 2020 Oscars: E’s Inside Guide<\/i> special Friday, Feb. 7 at 11 p.m.!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

via:: E! Online<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tonight is the night to celebrate the life of Kobe Bryant. On Friday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers returned to the Staples Center for their first basketball game since the death of Kobe. They will play against the Portland Trail Blazers. Before any ball was dribbled and shot was scored, the venue along with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-287496","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-09 21:11:18","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KIDN - The Lift FM","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287496\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}