Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, Jan. 26 outside of Los Angeles along with his 13-year old daughter Gianna and seven other victims. The city of Los Angeles continues to mourn the loss of the nine victims as well as the city of Philadelphia. Bryant played high school basketball at Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia and the school had a ceremony to honor him this past weekend. Along with the tribute to Bryant, his No. 33 jersey was unveiled after it was reported stolen. The jersey reappeared in China after it was bought by a collector. The collector contacted the school and it was returned prior to Bryant’s death.
“That was kind of an iconic moment when the spotlight went on that jersey. It was just tremendous,” Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer told NBC Philadelphia (per NBC News). “It was major irony, almost, how we’ve been waiting for that jersey for a long time. For a long time we didn’t know where it was. To have it back, it’s a fitting ending to a tough week.”
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Before the school had the special ceremony for Bryant, there was a gathering on the day of his death as people wanted to pay tribute then.
“The school community was deeply saddened by the loss of one of our most illustrious alumni,” said Amy Buckman, spokesperson for Lower Merion School District, during a news conference outside the school per USA Today.
“Mr. Bryant is the person most identified with Lower Merion High School and school district throughout the world,” she said. “My own children have been traveling in foreign countries wearing their Lower Merion T-shirts or jackets, and people all over the world have walked up to them and said, ‘Lower Merion, Kobe Bryant.’”
On Friday, the Lakers had their first game since the helicopter crash and they held the special ceremony for Bryant before tipoff. LeBron James spoke to the crowd towards the end of the tribute and he was emotional.
“It’s like the happiest that I’ve ever seen,” James said after the game on Friday night. “Being able to just be with his daughters, be with his family, because when we’re playing this game of basketball, we give so much to it. It’s my 17th year so I know, you give so much to it that unfortunately, your family comes to the wayside at times, because when you want to be great at something, when you want to be the best at something, you become so driven that you won’t let nothing stand in the way of it. Not even your own family sometimes.”
