The world is still mourning the death of one of the greatest basketball players to step on a court. As fans of the late, great Kobe Bryant celebrate his birthday on Aug. 23, one of the world’s leading recording artists paid tribute to him at a recent concert.
According to TMZ, Canadian superstar Drake, who is currently on tour, stopped in Los Angeles for shows on Monday and Tuesday night. While in the City of Lost Angels, the popular rapper acknowledged two Lakers legends on stage. (He acknowledged LeBron James on Monday.)
On Tuesday night, while performing on his “It’s All A Blur” tour at Crypto.com Arena, where Bryant played for many years, a Black Bryant basketball jersey was thrown onstage (along with a woman’s bra). Drake picked it up, showed the crowd, and said they had to acknowledge the legend.
As he spoke to the crowd, he said, “I’m a hold this up ’cause we got to show love to Kobe one time. Ya’ll make some noise for Kobe at this time.” As the world celebrates the birth of Bryant, Los Angeles will be doing it big on Aug. 24, designated “Kobe Bryant Day.” The day is for the natives of the city to remember the contributions and the talent of the man who died in 2020 in a helicopter crash.
Bryant played his entire 20-year career playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. As a Lakers player, Bryant was a five-time NBA World Champion, a two-time Finals MVP, and the 2008 Most Valuable Player. During his career, he made the All-Star team 18 times. He was the youngest player ever to reach 30,000 points and retired from the NBA in 2016 and scored an NBA-season-high 60 points in his final game. Bryant was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020.