Amid a number of changes to All-Star weekend events, it’s safe to say that things ended as a huge success for the NBA. Each event came down to the wire and there didn’t seem to be a dull moment in the whole affair.
LeBron James, who led his team to a victory in Sunday night’s All-Star game, noted the presence of the late Kobe Bryant.
“We all compete at the highest level, try to put our respective teams in a position to win every night so guys definitely just had that sense of pride, that sense of competitiveness throughout the season, throughout the All-Star Game, which we had tonight.
“But you could definitely feel Bean’s presence just from the start, from every moment, from the fans chanting his name to seeing the numbers every time Giannis’ team run on the floor you seen the 24.
“He was definitely here.”
.@KingJames said you could "definitely feel" Kobe Bryant's presence at the #NBAAllStar game. pic.twitter.com/Vikx0WFIZV
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 17, 2020
Kobe Bryant and his daughter, GiGi, died last month in a tragic helicopter crash in Southern California. They were among nine victims who lost their lives.
To honor Bryant, the NBA assigned the number 2 (Gianna’s number) and 24 (Kobe’s number) to each All-Star team, and also renamed the trophy after the 5x NBA Champion.
Though we will never have the pleasure of watching him again, LeBron James and others still feel the Mamba watching over all of us. Last night, it almost seemed like he was right there watching with us.
