When it happens, it’ll go down among the most meaningful games in Staples Center history. And, at the same time, relatively meaningless.
But for now, the NBA announced Monday afternoon that it was postponing Tuesday’s game between the Lakers and Clippers, to be rescheduled at a later date.
“The decision was made out of respect for the Lakers organization, which is deeply grieving the tragic loss of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people in a helicopter crash Sunday,” a league press release stated.
In a statement Monday afternoon, the Lakers organization acknowledged the postponement and wrote that “it would like to thank all of you for the tremendous outpouring of support and condolences. This is a very difficult time for all of us. We continue to support the Bryant family and will share more information as it is available.”
LeBron James posted on Instagram Monday evening, writing, in part: “Man I love you big bro. My heart goes to Vanessa and the kids. I promise you I’ll continue your legacy man! You mean so much to us all here especially #LakerNation and it’s my responsibility to put this shit on my back and keep it going!! Please give me the strength from the heavens above and watch over me! I got US here! There’s so much more I want to say but just can’t right now because I can’t get through it! Until we meet again my brother!!”
The Lakers were scheduled to host the Clippers on TNT on Tuesday at 7 p.m., two days after Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas along with eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. Discussions between the NBA and the Lakers about delaying the game started Sunday evening, and ultimately, according to EPSN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Clippers posed no objection to the Lakers’ request that the game be postponed.
Complete coverage: Kobe Bryant helicopter crash
The game would have been played just two days after the fatal crash in “the house that Kobe Bryant built,” as Alicia Keys put it in her address as host of the Grammy Awards, the music awards show that was held at Staples Center, where Bryant created so many indelible moments, the same day he died.
Bryant played his entire 20-year NBA career with the Lakers, winning five NBA titles and becoming an L.A. icon and international inspiration.
Outside of the arena on Sunday, legions of Angelenos congregated to mourn Bryant, including Lakers guard Quinn Cook, who, like so many current NBA players, grew up as a fan of Bryant’s.
Tuesday’s game would have been an emotionally charged affair starkly different than the high-energy playoff atmosphere on display in the teams’ first two meetings, on opening night and again on Christmas, both Clippers wins. Prices on StubHub for tickets to Tuesday’s game had hiked up to $1,000 and more, more than five times what they cost prior to Sunday morning, according to sports business journalist Darren Rovell. Additionally, in a notice on its website prior to the postponement, StubHub told customers that, in order “to honor the legacy of the great Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gigi, StubHub is donating 100% of the fees of tickets sold on StubHub for the January 28 Lakers vs Clippers game to the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation.”
“It’s going to be a tough one,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers told reporters in Orlando, where he wasn’t looking forward to facing the Lakers on Tuesday, even after his team managed to win Sunday afternoon despite players’ heartache. “All of us, we’re just not equipped to know how to handle it, we’re just doing our best.”
Bryant was an inspiration to players on both L.A. teams, including to Lakers star LeBron James, who just surpassed Bryant’s career total of 33,643 points to move into third on the NBA’s career scoring list Saturday night in Philadelphia, Bryant’s hometown.
Afterward, James shared a story about an early memory in his relationship with Bryant, recalling driving down from a high school tournament in New Jersey in 2002 to see Bryant play in the All-Star Game, also in Philadelphia, where the Lakers guard gifted the St. Vincent–St. Mary prodigy with a pair of signature shoes.
“I’m happy just to be in any conversation with Kobe Bean Bryant, one of the all-time greatest basketball players to ever play, one of the all-time greatest Lakers,” James said hours before Bryant’s death.
Neither team practiced Monday before the previously scheduled game between the Western Conference powers, which was to be the third of four in the regular season. The Lakers officially called off practice Sunday evening; the Clippers, who were just returning from their East Coast trip, hadn’t been expected to practice.
Several Lakers players weighed in on social media to express heartbreak and disbelief, including third-year forward Kyle Kuzma, who as a rookie boldly reached out to Bryant seeking advice.
Bryant proved a willing mentor.
“Damn I’ve been messed up all day,” Kuzma wrote Sunday on Instagram in a caption he paired with a trio of pictures honoring Bryant, including an image of a young Kuzma wearing a No. 8 jersey. “I grew up trying to be like you. I would watch YouTube highlights as a kid trying to mimic you (and I still do) I would go to the gym as a kid and shoot fade-aways for hours acting as if every shot I took was at the buzzer just like you. Then 3 years ago I became a laker. You became family & a mentor to me.
“As a young kid I would of done anything in the world to meet you and as a rookie I had my opportunity. A dinner. A dinner with my idol Kobe Bryant. Talking about basketball, life and business with you at that moment changed my life forever man. I’m teared up just trying to write this but Kobe thank you for being a brother to me. Anything I ever needed from you, was just a call away. Thank you for all the knowledge. Thank you for just being a friend. Your inner drive is something that will never be match. Heroes come and go but you my guy will truly last forever.”
Bryant also served as a mentor to Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, who were among the NBA players invited to spend time this past summer at the Laker legend’s Mamba Sports Academy.
After Sunday’s victory, Leonard – who had 31 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists – said in a postgame TV interview that he’d gone out wanting to play well for Bryant.
“Knowing him personally, I know he’da wanted me to come out here and try to ball and still just be great,” Leonard said. “So that’s what I tried to do tonight.”
And that’s what the Lakers (36-10) and Clippers (33-14) – who currently are the respective first and third seeds in the conference standings – would have tried to do on Tuesday, tough as it would have been.
“At the end of the day when you think about Kobe, he’s a winner,” Rivers said after Sunday’s game, when players requested that the normal postgame availability in the locker room be canceled.“I told our guys, ‘Go win the game if you want to honor him,’ and they did that. But it’s a difficult night. We’re not prepared for this. None of us were. I wasn’t before the game and I’m not now. It’s just really tough. For (former Laker) Lou (Williams), for Kawhi. Just a lot of relationships that Kobe had with guys in our locker room.
“I was worried, I didn’t know if our guys could get through it, to be honest. Sometimes the stage is the best place to get away from reality. I thought our guys, in my opinion, they had a two-hour break from the emotional day.”
The Lakers, who brought in grief counselors for their grieving staff to the office on Monday, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, are next scheduled to host Portland on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Clippers are next set to face Sacramento on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., also at Staples Center.
It’s unclear when the game will be made up. If it were as soon as Wednesday, that would leave the Clippers with a back-to-back set of games. The same situation would arise for one or both teams if it were made up on either of the remaining two open dates – Feb. 2 or Feb. 7 – before the All-Star break begins on Feb. 14.
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Ring Talk. #mambamentality #mambaproinvitational pic.twitter.com/RwWimAhOKm
— Mamba Sports Academy (@MambaSportsHQ) September 26, 2019
Quinn Cook paying respect to Mamba pic.twitter.com/Clt8bnaWWK
— Jery (@Jerys0) January 27, 2020
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