NBA All-Star Game Pays Tribute To Kobe Bryant As Team LeBron Wins
You've got to hand it to the NBA.
In the fourth quarter of the 2020 All-Star Game, Kyle Lowry took charges, Giannis Antetokounmpo blocked a shot by LeBron James, James drove to the basket as three defenders genuinely tried to stop him. Heck, there was even a coach's challenge.
It was high-level basketball from the best players in the world, just what the NBA had hoped for when they retooled the format of the game to include a target score in the fourth quarter, turned off the clock and put charity money on the line.
The game came down to the final possession, with both teams a basket away from the target score of 157. On the final play, Lowry fouled Anthony Davis, sending him to the free-throw line. The Lakers' starting power forward made his second shot to give Team LeBron a 157-155 win.
“I told my team I was going to miss the first one and put a little more pressure on myself here at home,” Davis told TNT. “So, I made the miss look good. Back rim. And then I went up to the line, crowd going crazy, Team Giannis booing me, Trae Young coming on the floor touching my hand. So I just wanted to make sure I put a little extra pressure on myself and knock down the second one.”
The first three quarters were typical All-Star basketball, with flurries of uncontested dunks, open three-pointers and scant defense. At one point, TNT cameras showed Team LeBron coach Frank Vogel saying, "Everybody stay right where you're at and let James go to work. Genius coaching right there."
That changed in the fourth quarter.
Cameras caught Vogel drawing up plays and James passionately leading his team in huddles. With the game tied at 152-152, the players even started arguing with the referees over whether Joel Embiid was fouled as he drove to the basket. Vogel challenged the foul, successfully overturning the call.
Team LeBron won $400,000 for his charity, Chicago Scholars, while Team Giannis won $100,000 for After School Matters.
Clippers' Kawhi Leonard won the Kobe Bryant MVP award after finishing with a game-high 30 points, shooting eight-for-14 from beyond the three-point line and grabbing seven rebounds.
"I want to thank Kobe for everything he’s done for me," Leonard said. "All the long talks and workouts. Thank you. This one’s for him.”
There were multiple tributes to Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26 along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people.
Team Giannis wore Bryant's No. 24 jersey, while Team LeBron wore No. 2 in honor of Gianna.
Common delivered a powerful tribute to Bryant before the game, using spoken-word rhymes.
"You'll bring out the best in the greats, and inspire others like 23 did for 8," Common said, referring to Michael Jordan and Bryant. "You see, he used his game to touch the world's soul, a king named Kobe Bryant who wore purple and gold. Twenty-four hours a day you'll put in work forget the salary, and being from Chicago you can possess that Mamba Mentality. And that's dedication and that's the fight, so even in the darkest times you'll feel Kobe's light."
Magic Johnson made a speech honoring Bryant and encouraged everyone to hold hands during an eight-second moment of silence. Even the players obliged.
"We'll never see another basketball player quite like Kobe, scoring 81 points in one game, scoring 60 points in his last game and then winning five NBA championships," Johnson said. "But what I'm really proud about when we think about Kobe Bryant, there's millions of people in Los Angeles that don't have a home. Kobe was fighting to get them homes and shelter every single day. He was passionate about that. He was also passionate about being a great father, husband, filmmaker. Young man won an Oscar. So we all are hurting. This is a tough time for the whole NBA family."
When Johnson first mentioned Bryant, the crowd cheered. He encouraged them to cheer louder and re-said his name. The fans responded by screaming and breaking out into a "Kobe" chant.
"There you go," Johnson said.
There were multiple musical performances as images of Bryant played in the background, including Jennifer Hudson singing "For All We know" before the game and Chance The Rapper singing "I Was A Rock" during halftime. As Lil' Wayne rapped "No Problem" he changed some of the lyrics to say, "Rest in Peace to Kobe Bryant and his daughter."
During the game, Johnson wrote a tweet for Bryant.
"Kobe, we miss you and I hope we made you proud," he said.
