The tragic loss of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others this past Sunday has been felt throughout the entirety of the basketball world, and now the NBA All-Star Game will be a reflection of both Kobe and Gianna.
As reported by ESPN’s Marc Spears, the team in the All-Star Game captained by the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo will don the number 24 that Kobe used in the second half of his career, with Los Angeles Lakers’ star LeBron James’ team wearing the number 2 on their jerseys, which Gianna Bryant had worn as a promising young player.
The NBA says the 2020 NBA All-Star Game will feature Team LeBron wearing the No. 2 and Team Giannis wearing the No. 24 – Gianna and Kobe’s basketball jersey numbers. Both teams will wear jersey patches displaying nine stars, representing those who lost their lives in the crash.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) January 31, 2020
This year’s All-Star will have a unique format to honor Kobe Bryant as well as incentives throughout the game that will award money to charities, efforts that will enhance the competitiveness of the game as well as remembering those lost in Sunday’s tragedy.
