Friday night at Staples Center was unlike any other
Red roses adorned the courtside seats where Kobe and Gianna Bryant sat at the last Los Angeles Lakers game they attended. On the overhead video board, photos of Bryant in action for the Lakers alternated with those of the other seven people who were killed alongside him and his 13-year-old daughter in a helicopter crash.Longtime public address announcer Lawrence Tanter introduced the entire Lakers lineup the same way: “From Lower Merion High School, No. 8, Kobe Bryant.
The crowd stood for 24.2 seconds of silence as the shot clocks ticked off the time until the horn blared. Spotlights shone on the empty seats set aside for Bryant and his daughter. His had a black-and-white Mamba jersey and hers a No. 24 jersey. “The first thing comes to mind is all about family. As I look around this arena, we're all breathing, hurt and heartbroken,” James said. “The best thing you can do is lean on the shoulders of your family.”“I look at this as a celebration tonight,” he said.
“He's been really a tower of strength for all of us,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of James. “We're following his lead.”Back in the arena, Jeff Nadal was among the early arriving fans. Nadal rolled up a giveaway No. 24 T-shirt in his hand and rested his chin on it, staring into space.
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