A crowd of 21,000 chants Kobe, Kobe, Kobe as the NBA great is remembered at the league's annual All-Star Game in Chicago.
The NBA has paid tribute to the late Kobe Bryant at the annual All-Star Game in Chicago, with a jam-packed United Centre falling silent for eight seconds as a mark of respect for the basketball great.A chant of"Kobe, Kobe, Kobe" broke out among the 21,000 spectators as the NBA great was honoured in Chicago Fellow Lakers legend Magic Johnson said"we will never see another basketball player" quite like BryantThe silence was broken by a string of thunderous"Kobe, Kobe, Kobe," chants from the 21,000-strong crowd that rocked the stadium as they honoured Bryant, who wore the numbers eight and 24 on his jerseys during his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The stirring pre-game tribute began with fellow Lakers great Magic Johnson rousing the crowd and paying homage to Bryant, who was killed along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other victims in a helicopter crash in California on January 27"We will never see another basketball player quite like Kobe," said Johnson, who noted his work with the Los Angeles community along with the love he had for his family.@NBAonTNT video tweet: ".@MagicJohnson leads an 8-second moment of silence for Kobe Bryant and David Stern before the #NBAAllStar game" Johnson also paid tribute to former NBA commissioner David Stern, who oversaw explosive growth in the popularity of basketball during his 30-year tenure. Stern died on January 1. Before tip-off, singer and actor Jennifer Hudson sang a tribute to Kobe with a montage of photos of Bryant and his daughter in the background. @SportsCenter photo tweet: "NBA All-Stars held hands during 8 seconds of silence in honor of Kobe Bryant." LeBron James's team — including Australia's Ben Simmons — wore blue jerseys, which all featured the number two in honour of Gianna Bryant, who wore the same number for her school team. Giannis Antetokounmpo's team wore red, with every player wearing 24 on the back for Kobe Bryant with, on their right shoulders, a black circular patch with nine stars, one for each victim of last month's helicopter crash.
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