All-Star Weekend sees outpouring of tributes for Kobe Bryant

The NBA All-Star weekend has seen some heartfelt tributes for Kobe Bryant from Barack Obama and the NBA, but there have also been some odd ones.

Basketballer Kobe Bryant was the All-Star game.

The memory of Kobe Bryant will continue for many years to come after the NBA decided to announce the All-Star Game MVP award will be renamed the Kobe Bryant Award.

Bryant died on January 26, 2020 along with eight others including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, two of her teammates and their parents.

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It’s was a tragedy that rocked the NBA and with a history at All-Star Games like Bryant had, it was bound to be an emotional weekend.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver unveiled the renamed award as the Kobe Bryant MVP Award, with Kobe one of only two players in NBA history to win the title four times along with Bob Pettit, who played between 1954 and 1965.

Bryant was an 18-time NBA All-Star and became the youngest to play in the game when he was selected at the age of 19 years and 170 days.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver unveils the Kobe Bryant MVP Award.

“Kobe Bryant is synonymous with NBA All-Star and embodies the spirit of this global celebration of our game,” Silver said. “He always relished the opportunity to compete with the best of the best and perform at the highest level for millions of fans around the world.”

KOBE TRIBUTES GET WEIRD

In continues the honours that have been lavished on the NBA legend following his tragic passing but it has also highlighted some of the more bizarre ways Bryant has been remembered.

Rapper The Game added a new tattoo just above his eye with a sideways eight in the Lakers’ style, with the caption “∞ F O R E V E R”

On his latest tour, The Game has gone on stage with a Bryant jersey and also plans to record a song in Bryant’s honour.

The pair were friends and when Bryant died, he posted a heartfelt message that included “thank you for everything over the years, especially the advice, short talks with my boys & all that you’ve contributed”.

Fellow rapper 2 Chainz also revealed his tribute to Kobe during the week, revealing he had a 2 and a 4 tattooed on the inside of his knees to create the Lakers’ legend’s No. 24 jersey.

They are also far from the only ones to get tattoos with current Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis both honouring Kobe with ink while NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. also immortalised Bryant.

But it’s not all that has been dedicated to Bryant with a bizarre mural in Indiana taken down after incessant ridicule.

The artist didn’t quite nail the face and gave an inordinate amount of underarm hair with one Facebook user writing “you killed Kobe all over again”.

Whoever painted this on the side of the marathon on 38th and highschool road 🗣 Count your 🤬ing days b🤬h!! You killed Kobe all over again. I just took this pic. Smh

Posted by Joseph Maddox II on Friday, 7 February 2020

ALL-STAR WEEKEND HONOURS LEGEND

The announcement the All-Star Game MVP would renamed in Bryant’s honour saw another outpouring of tributes from around the NBA.

It comes after Bryant and his daughter, Gigi, were buried in a private funeral service in southern California last week.

The uniforms for Sunday’s All-Star Game in Chicago will also honour the pair with LeBron James’ team wearing the No. 2 for Gigi and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s team wearing No. 24 for Bryant.

Antetokounmpo was one of several all-stars who also spoke Saturday about their memories and the legacy that Bryant left behind.

“The format is amazing,” Antetokounmpo said. “It makes you want to play hard and compete against one another. Each quarter you have the opportunity to win, and it makes it way more competitive.

“But wearing 24 and LeBron wearing number two, it’s a big honour. I wouldn’t want it any other way representing Kobe and Gigi in tomorrow night’s game.”

Antetokounmpo described the four-time All-Star Game MVP Bryant as the “Michael Jordan of our generation.”

Kobe Bryant won the NBA All-Star MVP four times.

“A guy that mentored me in the last few years of my career, a guy that was always there for me,” Antetokounmpo said. “In the regular season, the playoffs, a guy that told me that whenever I need something, I could just reach out to him, and he was literally always there. If I needed something, he would text me back, call me.

“Growing up, he was my idol. He was one of those guys that gave back to the game so much, gave back to the players. A lot of people when they’re so great, they don’t do that.”

Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker said this is an emotional time for the NBA family not only because of the death of Bryant, but also former commissioner David Stern, who died on New Year’s Day.

“With the tragic death of Kobe and Gigi and the rest of the families on the plane and David Stern, it’s definitely going to be a very emotional weekend, and we’re going to celebrate those guys and everyone else as best as we can,” Walker said.

“They meant so much to our game. They grew the game so much. We all just have a lot of respect for them.”

Even former US President Barack Obama offered another tribute at the NBA All-Star Weekend Newsmaker Brunch, which was posted to social media by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

“That loss is something that I know many are still grappling with – particularly, Kobe because he was with his daughter and those families and those children,” he said. “And those of us who have had the joy and privilege of being parents, and taking our kids to ball games, and rooting for our children, and then seeing our dreams and hopes passed on to them … nothing is more heartbreaking.”

It comes hot on the heels of news that more than 88,000 people registered for tickets to the memorial for Bryant at Staples Centre on February 24 within the first five hours.

The centre has a 20,000 seat capacity and many tickets will be claimed by family, friends, NBA officials and other dignitaries, which means seats will be limited.

— with AFP

Originally published as All-Star Weekend sees outpouring of tributes for Kobe Bryant