The celebration of life memorial service for Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna is taking place on Monday morning, and those in attendance are posting photos of the tributes to the late NBA icon. Everyone in the Staples Center was given a commemorative ticket, as well as a program that featured touching photos of Bryant and Gianna.
Front and back the Kobe and Gianna Celebration of Life program and the front and back of the commemorative ticket. pic.twitter.com/s4LfagEduI
โ Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) February 24, 2020
As multiple photos showed on Monday morning, there were many tributes to Bryant and Gianna in these commemorative items. The ticket featured the Bible verse, Psalm 23, while the program included a long quote from Bryant to his daughters.
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“Lastly to our daughters… You guys know that if you do the work, you work hard enough, dreams do come true. You know that, we all know that. But hopefully what you get from tonight is that those times when you get up early and you work hard; those times when you don’t feel like working โ you’re too tired, you don’t want to push yourself โ but you do it anyway,” the quote from Bryant read.
“That is actually the dream. That’s the dream. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey,” the quote continued. “And if you guys can understand that, what you’ll see happen is that you won’t accomplish your dreams, your dreams won’t come true, something greater will. And if you guys can do that, then I’m doing my job as a father.”
Those inside Staples Center received a booklet with photos of Kobe and Gigi. โฅ๏ธ (via @kylegoon) pic.twitter.com/Tucqx5IXu2
โ SLAM (@SLAMonline) February 24, 2020
Those in charge of the memorial service have made it clear that they are putting in the effort to properly honor the victims of the Jan. 26 helicopter crash. The interior of the Staples Center is filled with tributes to Bryant and his career, including 33,643 flowers to commemorate the number of points Bryant scored in his career.
Even the lighting was used to honor Bryant’s memory. The mostly-empty Staples Center was captured prior to attendees filing into the arena, and there was a purple light covering the stage at center court and the surrounding chairs.
The attendees were also given a booklet that was completely filled with photos of Bryant, Gianna, and their family. There were iconic photos from Bryant’s career with the Lakers, including some of his slam dunks. The booklet also featured numerous photos away from the court that focused on the man and his family.
(Photo Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
