The Kobe Bryant memorial has been called the “Celebration of Life” by Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s widowed wife and Gianna’s mother. The memorial would be held today at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California. People would be gathered at the arena to pay tributes and celebrate the lives of those lost on the 26th of January due to a helicopter crash.
Together with Kobe and Gianna, Baseball coach John Altobelli, Gianna’s teammates, Alyssa Altobelli, 14, and Payton Chester, 13, and their parents Keri and John Altobelli, Sarah Chester, and Ara Zobayan, pilot. All were headed to a basketball game at the NBA Legend’s Mamba Sports Academy in Newbury Park where Kobe was set to coach Gianna’s team.
Tributes have poured from people all over the world since the death of the deceased. The NBA has renamed the MVP award during the NBA All-Star Weekend to the Kobe Bryant MVP trophy which Kawhi Leonard became the first recipient of the award. The NBA All-Star Match embodied the “Mamba Mentality” passed on by Kobe as the game was highly competitive and entertaining just like the Laker Legend would have wanted.
The 18 times All-Star was buried with his daughter on the 7th of February in an intimate ceremony with family members. The memorial is being held today due to the significance of the date. 2-24-20; the number two represents Gianna’s jersey number which has been retired, the number twenty-four is one of Kobe’s jersey numbers which had been retired after he announced his retirement in 2016. The number 20 signified the number of years Kobe and Vanessa had been together as a couple.
The death of Kobe Bryant is still a shock that the world of Basketball is yet to recover from. For the world at large, it is painful to see a mother who just put to bed to see her husband and one of her daughters die. It is almost unimaginable but that is the reality we face. But we need to roll with the punches, learn and move on just like Kobe would have wanted. Mamba out.