Kobe Bryant: Lakers Honor Late Star With Uniform Patch During First Staples Center Game Since Death

The Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a special memorial patch for Kobe Bryant ahead of Friday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers. The insignia was also added to the Staples Center court floorboards, as were the numbers 8 and 24, which Bryant wore during his career with the Lakers. The team retired both numbers after Bryant retired in 2016.

The Lakers tweeted photos of the patch, which is a black circle with “KB” on it, along with a single white star in the center. The same image was put on the court.

The team will still be wearing the simple black band put on jerseys across the NBA in honor of former NBA Commissioner David Stern, who died on Jan. 1 at age 77 following a brain hemorrhage in December.

The patch is not the only way Lakers players are honoring Bryant. Lakers coach Frank Vogel said the entire Lakers coaching staff will wear Bryant’s signature sneakers during the game. LeBron James also unveiled the “Mamba 4 Ever” tattoo he got on his thigh earlier this week.

While no member of the Lakers could change their jersey number to 8 or 24, the players found unique ways to pay tribute to Bryant. Guard Quinn Cook changed his uniform number from 2 to 28, a combination of the No. 2 Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant wore and Bryant’s 8, reports ESPN. Gianna, who also died in Sunday’s helicopter crash, wore No. 2 in her youth basketball games and dreamed of playing for the University of Connecticut.

Bryant, Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash Sunday in Calabasas, California. Bryant spent his entire career with the Lakers, winning five NBA championships.

On Wednesday, Vogel told reporters that Bryant’s death is only bringing the team closer.

“It’s just strengthened what we’ve felt all year about our current group, which is we’ve become a family in a very short time,” he explained. “And it’s something you talk about in the NBA with your teams, but this group in particular has really grown to love each other very rapidly. And we understand the importance and the opportunity that we have this year, and this has just brought us closer together.”

Vogel said the rest of the season will be dedicated to Bryant’s memory.

“We want to represent what Kobe was about more than anything,” Vogel told reporters. “We’ve always wanted to make him proud. And that’s not going to be any different here.”

The Lakers’ game against the Trail Blazers at the Staples Center is their first since Bryant’s death. They were scheduled to play the Clippers on Tuesday, but the game was postponed.

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