The NBA has temporarily postponed tonight’s Los Angeles Lakers-Clippers game to give the Lakers time to grieve the sudden death of Kobe Bryant.
On Monday afternoon, the National Basketball Association released a statement on their decision. “The National Basketball Association game between the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020 at Staples Center has been postponed. The decision was made out of respect for the Lakers organization, which is deeply grieving the tragic loss of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people in a helicopter crash on Sunday.”
READ MORE: WATCH: How LA basketball fans mourned the tragic loss of Kobe Bryant
The game will be rescheduled later in the season, however TNT will still pay tribute to Bryant with a one-hour pregame show at Staples Center on Tuesday, according to The Wrap. The show will include Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson from Inside the NBA, who will be joined by Dwyane Wade, Candace Parker, Steve Nash, and other invited guests.
The helicopter crash on Sunday in Calabasas, California claimed the life of Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianni (known as Gigi); Orange Coast College baseball coach, John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and their daughter Alyssa; assistant girls basketball coach, Christina Mauser; Sarah Chester and her daughter, Payton, 13; and pilot, Ara Zobayan. They were headed to the Mamba Sports Academy in Newbury Park to attend Gigi, Alyssa and Payton’s basketball game. Bryant and Mauser coached the girls.
Since the tragedy, fans have come to the Staples Center to be amongst other grieving fans and to leave flowers, candles, stuffed animals, balloons and other memorials for the fallen star.
READ MORE: Kobe Bryant’s death isn’t just about basketball, it’s about the void left behind
Last night, ESPN aired Bryant’s last game before he retired, which the Lakers won over the Utah Jazz on April 13, 2016. During the game, Bryant went out with a bang, becoming the oldest player to ever score 60 points in a game.
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