Major League Baseball's (MLB) Los Angeles Dodgers paid touching tribute to Kobe Bryant on what would have been the late basketball superstar's 42nd birthday on Sunday.
Bryant - who spent the entirety of his illustrious 20-year career with the LA Lakers, winning five NBA titles - and 13-year-old daughter Gianna died along with seven others in a helicopter crash in California on January 26.
The Lakers are expected to wear their Kobe-designed 'Black Mamba' jerseys - which include a heart-shaped badge with the number 2 in memory of Gianna, who wore it during her basketball matches - in tribute to Bryant when they face the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series in Orlando on Monday night.
Last month, the Orange County Board of Supervisors declared Monday (August 24) as Kobe Bryant Day, with the numbers 24 and 8 representing the two he wore during his NBA career.
Bryant would have turned 42 on Sunday, with the Dodgers keen to remember the LA icon before their latest MLB clash against the Colorado Rockies.
The players all warmed up in gold Bryant Laker jerseys and also wore them during a special pre-game ceremony that featured a video tribute narrated by legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully.
The pitcher's mound at Dodger Stadium was also marked with the numbers 24 and 2 in memory of Kobe and Gianna, while Dodgers star Enrique Hernandez mimed shooting a three-pointer while celebrating a three-run home run in the fourth inning.
“Tenacity, consistency, winning. Just the [competitiveness],” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said when asked what Kobe represented, per MLB.com.
“Doing things the right way and really looking out and being a servant to so many people in greater Los Angeles.”
