Friends, fans and family alike continue to mourn a sporting legend following his death last week.
On January 26th, 41-year-old basketball star Kobe Bryant perished in a helicopter crash. Eight other individuals, including Bryant’s teenage daughter, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, were also on board the flight, of which there were no survivors. The group had been en route to a basketball game, in which Bryant’s daughter was scheduled to play, when their vehicle, piloted by Ara Zobayan, came down in Calabasas, California. Sarah and Payton Chester, John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli and Christina Mauser have since been named as the crash’s other victims, with investigation and recovery efforts still ongoing.
Since the shocking tragedy, tributes have been pouring in from fans across the globe, with players of NBA 2K20 now using the sports title to give Bryant a fitting send-off. Publisher 2K Games itself has paid its own respects with the addition of a new memorial dedicated to the LA Lakers star’s glittering career and life that appears immediately upon login. Over on Reddit, too, players have been banding together in order to give their idol an emotional farewell with special in-game, community-led events.
In one post, user Rowmel reveals how, in a recent match, he and another player mutually decided to make numerous 24-second shot clock violations to honor the same number last worn by Bryant prior to his retirement from the Lakers. Likewise, filthyrichX shared an image of NBA 2K20‘s Neighbourhood hub area filled with other players wearing the team’s iconic purple and gold colors.
An immense show of solidarity to celebrate the life of Kobe Bryant, then, and it goes without saying that we offer our own thoughts and prayers to Bryant’s family as well as those who also lost their lives in the tragic accident.
