Honoring Bryant’s memory overshadows result of game
PHILADELPHIA — Warriors forward Draymond Green placed the ball next to his camouflage Kobe sneakers, watching the 24second clock tick down as a chant rang through Wells Fargo Center: “KOBE! KOBE! KOBE!”
Two days after Kobe Bryant, his 13yearold daughter, Gianna, and seven others died in a helicopter crash, Bryant’s hometown was still grieving a Philadelphia legend. The result of Tuesday’s game — the Warriors lost 115104 to the 76ers — paled in importance to honoring the skinny kid from Lower Merion High School who long took pride in his Pennsylvania roots.
“I thought the Sixers did a fantastic job of capturing what is such a difficult moment,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “You want to honor Kobe, his daughter, and all the victims and their families. You want to do it in a
respectful way and a professional way. But you still have a basketball game to play, so it’s a very tricky thing.”
Though Bryant spent much of his childhood in Italy, he emerged as an NBA lottery pick after leading the Aces to their first state title in 53 years. Those who knew him best didn’t think it was a coincidence that his bluecollar mentality reflected the workingclass city in which he was born.
More than a matchup between two teams currently at different ends of the league’s hierarchy, Philadelphia’s first NBA game since Bryant’s death was a key opportunity for people to pay their respects. The 76ers lit up much of the lower bowl in purple. Lakers and Lower Merion jerseys dotted the arena.
Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, who started playing basketball after watching Bryant in the 2010 NBA Finals, traded in his No. 21 jersey for the night to wear Bryant’s No. 24. Recognizing Tuesday as a memorial service of sorts, the Warriors wore their black “The Town” uniforms.
In lieu of the usual pregame hype video, the 76ers put the names of the nine people who died in Sunday’s helicopter crash on the big screen. A video of Bryant’s final introduction at Wells Fargo Center in 2015 played as players fought back tears.
With Bryant’s No. 33 Aces jersey at midcourt, the arena fell silent for 33 seconds. Before the Warriors let the 24second shot clock hit zero, Philadelphia guard Ben Simmons got the ball tipped from Embiid, placed it at the top of the arc and grabbed his shorts as he picked up an eightsecond violation in honor of Bryant’s first number with the Lakers.
“It didn’t feel like it was a game,” Warriors guard D’Angelo Russell said. “But after a few minutes into it, you begin to snap back into it. It was weird.”
For many players on both teams, Bryant had been an icon, a friend, a mentor — the type of cultural phenomenon who transcends death. Little more than 48 hours after his helicopter collided into a hillside overlooking Calabasas (Los Angeles County), some were still struggling to reconcile that the man who seemed immune to vulnerability won’t post a tweet announcing that this was all a bad joke.
For three quarters Tuesday, the Warriors rode the emotions of the night to an inspired performance. But, after opening the fourth down just four points, they appeared to tire, giving up a 90 run on their way to their fourth straight loss and 14th in 15 games.
Russell, whose rookie season with the Lakers was Bryant’s last, paced Golden State with 28 points. Glenn Robinson III chipped in 20 points on 7for11 shooting, and Green — a close friend of the late Bryant — added nine points, nine rebounds and 12 assists.
Instead of trying to beat traffic home, fans lingered until the final buzzer. A city just beginning to mourn the hometown hero found comfort watching Embiid, in his No. 24, score 24 points.
“As I shot that last fadeaway, I actually yelled, ‘Kobe!’ ” Embiid said. “Since I started playing basketball, that’s how we’ve always done that. You shoot something in the trash, and you just go, ‘Kobe!’ ”