All the Ways Kobe Bryant Was Honored at the NBA All-Star Game
NBA All-Star Game: All the Ways Kobe Bryant Was Honored
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Kobe Bryant's legacy was felt throughout the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.
The Los Angeles Lakers legend, who tragically died alongside his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna "Gigi" Bryant, and seven others in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, was honored in several ways during Sunday's game.
The event, which was held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, kicked off with a touching tribute to Bryant by Jennifer Hudson.
The singer took the mic ahead of player introductions to honor the late NBA star. The powerhouse singer delivered a stunning rendition of "For All We Know," as photos of Bryant displayed behind her, including snapshots of the basketball player with Gigi.
Before Hudson's touching performance, Magic Johnson kicked things off with a few words about Bryant and the late NBA commissioner David Stern, who died on Jan. 1.
"We'll never see another basketball player quite like Kobe, scoring 81 points in one game, scoring 60 points in his last game, and then, winning five NBA championships. But what I'm really proud about when we think about Kobe Bryant... he was passionate about being a great father, husband, filmmaker -- young man won an Oscar -- so we all are hurting," Johnson shared.
Common came out to perform as well, and before introducing the players, he also honored Bryant, as well as the city of Chicago, where the game is taking place.
The All-Star players also honored Bryant and his daughter, Gigi, with their jerseys. LeBron James' team will be wearing jerseys with the number 2, in honor of Gianna's Mamba Academy basketball team jersey.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's group will wear Bryant's number, 24. Both All-Star teams wore jersey patches displaying nine stars, representing the nine lives lost in the Jan. 26 helicopter crash.
A number of different players also personally honored Bryant's memory with their wardrobes before changing into their memorial jerseys. For example, Devin Booker rocked a custom hoodie featuring the names of Bryant and his daughter.
The NBA is using a target score in the untimed fourth quarter of the All-Star Game, which will be 24 points more than the score of the team leading after three quarters, in a nod to Bryant's jersey.
During the game's big halftime show, Chance the Rapper performed a number of his big hits -- during which he was joined by Quavo and DJ Khaled -- for a high-energy appearance that got the crowd energized. However, he closed the halftime show out with one of the most emotional tributes of the night.
As Chance performed his powerful tune "I Was A Rock," the artist seemed to get emotional as touching footage of Bryant played on the giant screens behind him. The montage included clips of Bryant celebrating several different championship victories and clips of Bryant spending quality time with Gigi on the court.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver revealed on Saturday that the Kia NBA All-Star Game MVP Award would be renamed in honor of Bryant, who was an 18-time All-Star and won four All-Star Game MVP awards during his career.
The award will be presented for the first time with its new name on Sunday to Kawhi Leonard, who lead Team LaBron to victory.
James reflected on Bryant's legacy while speaking to reporters at the NBA All-Star Practice and Media Day in Chicago on Saturday.
"We know that he's watching over us and, you know, it’s our responsibility to represent the purple and gold. Not only for him, but for all the greats, everybody who’s ever come to the Lake show," James expressed. "I don’t want to -- I don’t really want to sit up here and talk about it too much. It’s a very sensitive subject, but he’s with us every day."
See more in the video below.
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