Stars and fans gather for Kobe
The memorial ceremony included musical numbers by Beyonce, Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera
Kobe Bryant’s wife remembered him as a devoted father and husband who arrived early for school pickups and wrote heartfelt cards and letters.
Rob Pelinka, Bryant’s longtime agent and close friend, recalled his final texts from the NBA superstar minutes before he was killed last month in a helicopter crash. Bryant was attempting to secure an internship for the daughter of another friend who was sitting with him in the chopper.
Michael Jordan called Bryant “a little brother” and said that when he died, “a piece of me died”.
Bryant’s athletic achievements were only part of the reason roughly 20,000 people gathered Monday for a public memorial service honouring him at Staples Centre in downtown Los Angeles. The event offered another chance to celebrate Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and the other seven victims of the crash with tears, memories and laughs.
Los Angeles already knew Bryant was much more than a basketball icon. His friends and family told the world.
“I couldn’t see him as a celebrity, nor just an incredible basketball player,” Vanessa Bryant said. “He was my sweet husband and the beautiful father of my children. He was mine.”
The ceremony included musical numbers by Beyonce, Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera. The event concluded with a screening of Dear
Basketball, Bryant’s Academy Award-winning short film about reluctantly saying goodbye to his passion upon his retirement from the Lakers in 2016.
Fans filled the seats at the arena where Bryant played for the final 17 seasons of a two-decade NBA career spent entirely with Los Angeles’ most popular sports franchise.
The mourners included Lakers legends Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Pau Gasol. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver joined Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Phil Jackson, Dwyane Wade and dozens of current NBA players. Celebrities such as Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez also attended.
After Jimmy Kimmel welcomed the crowd, Vanessa Bryant provided a poignant window into the family’s life with Gianna and her three sisters — Natalia, Bianka and Capri. “God knew they couldn’t be on this Earth without each other,” said Vanessa, who had been with Kobe since 1999. “He had to bring them home to have them together. Babe, you take care of our Gigi. And I got Nati, Bibi and Coco. We’re still the best team.”
Money from ticket sales at the soldout memorial will be given to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, which supports youth sports programmes in underserved communities.