Kobe Bryant: LeBron James gives loving eulogy to his 'brother', Usher sings 'Amazing Grace' at Lakers pregame
On Friday night, the Los Angeles Lakers played their first game since Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others died in a helicopter crash last Sunday. But before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers began at the Staples Center, a pregame ceremony was held to honor the late NBA legend.
Players of the Los Angeles Lakers team came out for warm-ups as all wore jerseys with the number 8 or 24. The ceremony opened with a moving performance of 'Amazing Grace' by Usher and a video montage highlighting Bryant's basketball career as well as moments from his life to a cello solo by Ben Hong.
The Lakers also paid tribute to all nine crash victims with a moment of silence and asked fans to remove their hats during a 24.2second period. Boyz II Men then performed the national anthem, during which Lakers player LeBron James was shown to be emotional.
Following this, James then addressed the crowd starting by naming all the lives lost in the crash. He said that he had something written down and was asked to stay on course. However, James continued, "Laker nation, man, I will be selling you short if I read off this s***, so I'm going to go straight from the heart."
James continued, "We’re all hurt, we’re all heartbroken. But when you’re going through something like this, the best thing you can do is lean on your family.” He saluted Laker Nation. “This is truly a family.”
"This is a celebration of the blood, the sweat, the tears, the broken-down body, the gettin' up, everything, the countless hours," James said. "The determination to be a great as he could be."
He said they were celebrating the career of a kid who came to Los Angeles and retired as a 38-year-old longtime veteran who became "the best daddy we've seen over the last three years."
James ended the speech saying, "In the words of Kobe Bryant, Mamba out. But in the words of us, not forgotten. Live on, brother.”
Two floor-seats were adorned with roses and jerseys honoring Bryant and Gianna, where the father and daughter would sit when they attended Lakers games.
When the game began, James dribbled out the block in tribute as the opening tap resulted in a 24-second violation, as other NBA teams have done since Bryant's passing. The Blazers also took an 8-second backcourt violation to return the ball to the Lakers.