LOS ANGELES _ When the NBA decided to honor Kobe Bryant's memory in the All-Star game, part of their plan was to have every player on each team wear one of two numbers _ No. 2, which Gianna Bryant wore, or No. 24, which Kobe Bryant wore for the latter part of his career.
They asked LeBron James which one he would like his team to wear and he picked No. 2.
James explained why on Monday with one word.
"Zhuri," James said, referring to his 5-year-old daughter.
He wore a bracelet on his right wrist made of small purple beads, broken up by three cube-shaped beads, white with the numbers 8 and 24 on it. He spoke about the balance the Los Angeles Lakers are attempting between doing their jobs to the best of their ability, leaning on each other to help each other process grief and remembering Kobe Bryant every moment they can.
A few feet away, a decal had been installed Friday afternoon, on the corner of one practice court _ a filled in black circle with "KB" written inside. Near the middle of the court were the decals of the numbers 8 and 24, just like on their game-day court at Staples Center.
It had been eight days since Bryant and his daughter Gianna were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas.
"Today was the start of a new week," James said. "We got a great workout, great practice today. We continue to focus on what needs to be done to continue to win ball games and get better and be as great as we can be. So it was a good day for us today."
This week is an important week in the NBA with the trade deadline at 6 p.m. EST Thursday. Before last Sunday's tragedy, the Lakers had been gently exploring what their options might be. Fielding a team with the best record in the Western Conference, they weren't trying to make any dramatic changes, but were open to trading anyone on their roster that wasn't James or Anthony Davis.
During the past week, the Lakers experienced something together that no one outside their locker room could understand. Their bond, already strong, grew tighter through the experience.
It's something the Lakers will consider as the trade deadline approaches, but not something that will paralyze them.
"I think it is part of the equation, but I don't think it's going to be something that prevents us from doing something if there's an opportunity to improve our roster," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said.
The tragedy on Jan. 26 was particularly difficult for general manager Rob Pelinka, who considered Bryant his best friend and was the godfather to Gianna Bryant. But there has been a desire throughout the organization of wanting to honor Bryant by adopting his mentality _ and that meant doing whatever it took to be successful on the court.
Pelinka attended practice Monday, as he has every day since the Lakers resumed practices last week.
"I just think that to compete at the level of professional sports, or really any sports, your mind has to be focused on what you're doing," Vogel said, speaking generally about the healing power of the work. "Invariably it takes your mind off your pain of everything you're going through."
In practice Monday, Vogel focused on defensive principles he felt the team had been ignoring lately. They worked on some offensive actions to try and predict how teams would attack them in coming games. They'll face the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday in a game that won't include the same tributes and memorials that were there the last time they played in Staples Center.
But they'll still honor Bryant. They'll still break each huddle by saying "1, 2, 3 Mamba!" as they have been since a practice last week.
"There is no way any individual can do it on their own," James said. "The week that we had. The week that we've all had. You have to lean on somebody in order to gain strength. That's the only reason we're all able to get through it together."
