The Los Angeles Lakers, more than anybody in the basketball world, have needed time to mourn the loss of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi, and seven others. After postponing Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Lakers will be back on the court against a team that Kobe himself loved to torture, the Portland Trail Blazers.
But tonight will be about much more than just the Lakers against the Blazers. While the details on it are scarce, the Lakers are planning to have a special pre-game ceremony where they will honor Kobe’s memory. While they have not yet scheduled a funeral or memorial for Kobe, the start of tonight’s game is expected to function a little bit like a mini-memorial, according to comments made from head coach Frank Vogel on Thursday.
The weight of the night was even too much for one of the players on the Trail Blazers, Carmelo Anthony. Anthony, who was a friend of Kobe and played with him on the 2008 and 2012 Olympic gold medal teams, did not travel with the Blazers for personal reasons.
None of the players on the Lakers have been able to speak to reporters yet since the tragedy and while it’s customary that they speak after tonight’s game, there’s no guarantee that the many Lakers touched by Kobe’s legacy will be able to speak about him just yet.
