By The Los Angeles Lakers wore special “Black Mamba” jerseys to remember Kobe Bryant in game four of their first-round playoff series on Monday in the NBA’s quarantine bubble in Florida.
The Lakers also wore a special patch bearing the No. 2 in a heart as they paid tribute to Bryant’s daughter Gianna as well before the Western Conference contest against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The 18-time all-star Bryant died, along with his daughter and seven others, in a helicopter crash seven months ago in Calabasas, California. He was 41, and Sunday would have marked his 42nd birthday.
Monday was also ‘Kobe Bryant Day’ in Los Angeles, where the city is honoring the five-time NBA champion with a move to rename the downtown road in front of the Staples Center arena after him.
“This is a gift to the city of Los Angeles and to all the Kobe Bryant fans around the world,” councilman Curren Price said of the proposal.
Kobe Bryant Boulevard will stretch south from the arena for several blocks to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Bryant became one of the greatest basketball players of his generation during a 20-year career with the Lakers.
The 6-foot-6-inch Bryant scored 33,643 points, the fourth-most in NBA history, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928) and LeBron James (34,241).
Bryant was chosen as the NBA finals MVP for both of the two most recent Laker championships.
