Nearly 1,400 basketballs were removed from Kobe Bryant’s memorial

Following Kobe Bryant’s shocking death in a California helicopter crash, thousands of fans visited Staples Center and L.A. Live to pay their respects in what ultimately became a makeshift memorial.

Fans left flowers, stuffed animals, jerseys, candles, signs, sneakers and a ton of basketballs with messages as a memorial for Kobe, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and the seven other victims.

The operators of Staples Center and L.A. Live started the clean-up process of that memorial on Monday, collecting all the items left in the arena district. And according to Staples Center president Lee Zeidman, that memorial included exactly 1,353 basketballs that were boxed up.

We began the cleanup at 4am ⁦@LALIVE⁩ XBox Plaza and we have now boxed 1353 basketballs dedicated to Kobe and Gianna. Truly amazing the outpouring of love from the City of Angels in honor of the 9 who lost their lives 1/26/20 pic.twitter.com/MUN21LNupH

— Lee Zeidman (@LeeZeidman) February 3, 2020

While it’s unclear what exactly will happen to those basketballs, Kobe’s widow, Vanessa, requested some of the items left at the site by mourning fans. Those requested items will be delivered to her. The flowers will be made into mulch and used in the landscaping at L.A. Live.

In all, it took nearly 12 hours to clear up the site.

G8 job by men/women ⁦@LALIVE⁩ went from Sun 2 Mon in just 12 hrs Due 2 massive #of items: 1353 b-ball’s,14 banners total length/width 520’x8’, >25k candles,5k of signs/letters/flags, >500 stuffed animals & >350 pr/shoes we will store & ⁦@Lakers⁩ will advise next steps pic.twitter.com/tWw2kIEw9m

— Lee Zeidman (@LeeZeidman) February 3, 2020

Let’s just hope those basketballs don’t go to waste.