Kobe Bryant and Daughter Gigi Honored by Brooklyn Nets With Empty Courtside Seats and Flowers

The father-daughter duo sat in those very seats while watching a Dec. 21 game against the Atlanta Hawks.

The NBA continues to pay their respects to Kobe Bryant.

It was an emotional night at Barclays Center on Wednesday, as the Brooklyn Nets honored the late NBA star and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, as well as the seven others, who died in a helicopter crash earlier this week. Before the Nets took on the Detroit Pistons, the lights dimmed and a two-minute video of the former Los Angeles Laker, showcasing his skills on the court and special moments with his daughter, appeared on the video board.

The announcer then read the names of the people who lost their lives on Sunday, and ended with a spotlight shining on two empty courtside seats with purple and yellow flowers on them. The seats were the same ones Kobe and Gianna sat while watching a Dec. 21 game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Al Bello/Getty Images
Al Bello/Getty Images

In a now-viral video, Kobe is seen coaching and giving his daughter, who was also a basketball player, tips and lessons as a sequence played out. In the days following their deaths, fans have been sharing the sweet father-daughter moment. 

The Los Angeles King also remembered Kobe, Gianna, and all the victims from the accident during their Wednesday game at Staples Center, which is also home of the Los Angeles Lakers. Before they began their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, a video montage of Kobe's legacy was shown on the screens. They concluded with a 24-second moment of silence for the athlete, as well as the other lives that were lost.

Kobe often spoke about Gianna's aspirations to follow in his footsteps and become a basketball star in her own right. During his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live last year, the basketball legend joked about fans asking him about having a son to carry on that legacy.

"The best thing that happens is when I go out and fans'll come up to me and say, 'You gotta have a boy, you and V [Vanessa Bryant]…you gotta have somebody to carry on your tradition and legacy, and [Gianna's] like, 'I got this,'" he shared. "That’s right. Yes, you do, you got this!"

When ET spoke with Kobe in December 2018, he shared what it was like coaching Gianna's middle school basketball team after retiring from professional basketball with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2016.

"It's been fun!" he said at the time. "We've been working together for a year and a half and they've improved tremendously in that time. I've got a group of great parents, a group of really, really intelligent, hardworking girls, and -- they're all seventh graders, they're all 12 years old -- but they've been playing so well!"

On Wednesday, Kobe's wife, Vanessa, released a statement, expressing her heartbreak and devastation, as well as her gratitude for the monumental outpouring of love and condolences. 

Watch the video below to hear the message she sent her husband's fans.

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