Lakers cover all seats with Kobe shirts ahead of Friday game

FILE - In this April 13, 2016, file photo, a giant banner congratulating Kobe Bryant is draped around Staples Center before his last NBA basketball game in downtown Los Angeles. Bryant, the 18-time NBA All-Star who won five championships and became one of the greatest basketball players of his generation during a 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, died in a helicopter crash Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File) (Richard Vogel, The Associated Press)

The Los Angeles Lakers are making sure every fan at Friday’s game has something to remember Kobe Bryant by.

The Lakers covered each seat in the Staples Center with a Bryant shirt adorned with his Nos. 8 and 24. Bryant, who will be inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame this year, was killed along with eight others in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26 in Calabasas, Calif.

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Friday’s game against Portland is the first game for the Lakers since Bryant’s death. Their Jan. 28 game against the Clippers was postponed in the wake of his death. Check out the photo below from USA Today’s Sandy Hooper.


About the Author

Justin Barney joined News4Jax in February 2019, but he’s been covering sports on the First Coast for more than 20 years.

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