Kobe Bryant Memorial: 'Every [Item] Had a Handwritten Note'

The President of Staples Center, Lee Zeidman, was struck by something as he and his crew collected the items left at a makeshift memorial outside of Staples Center to honor Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and the seven others who died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26.

"It was amazing to me that out of all of the thousands of items that we collected and put in 37 containers, that every one of them had a handwritten note," Zeidman told Sports Illustrated on Friday.

Mourners immediately started gathering outside of Staples Center after Bryant died. They left 1,353 basketballs and over 25,000 candles. They also left jerseys, flowers, shoes, paintings and stuffed animals.

"All had personal messages, including the shoes," Zeidman said, adding that people even wrote on the plastic wraps around the flowers.

Zeidman and his crew documented many of those messages with digital recordings. He's going to determine what to do with them at a later date after talking to the Lakers and the Bryant family.

The makeshift memorial kept expanding before being taken down a week after the crash on Feb. 3. Zeidman said he was impressed by how respectful people were of the site.

"We found no instances of people trying to walk away with any of those items," Zeidman said. "...We did have our security that was out there, L.A. Live security, Staples Center security and we worked with LAPD over the six, seven days that we had it set up to make sure that the crowds were orderly and respectful. And I'll be honest with you, it was amazing the amount of respect that Kobe, Gianna and the seven others were afforded as it related to that makeshift memorial."

However, there was an issue with illegal vendors trying to sell t-shirts and hats with the year Bryant was born and died, 1978-2020.

"It was very disappointing to see the hundreds of people profiting off of the loss of those nine souls," Zeidman said.

Vanessa Bryant requested to keep the nonperishable items that were left at the memorial. But Zeidman reached out to representatives of the Lakers after realizing that his crew had filled 37 containers. He offered to store everything at L.A. Live for a while.

"I had them actually come down to the Xbox Plaza to just take a look at the magnitude of things that we had there," Zeidman said.

Staples Center will host a memorial for Bryant on Feb. 24 at 10 a.m. That date has special symbolism because Gianna wore jersey No. 2, and Bryant wore No. 24.

"Those plans will start to develop over the next three weeks," Zeidman said.

People worldwide were greatly touched by Bryant's life. He was a five-time NBA champion, a two-time Finals MVP and a one-time regular season MVP in 2008 over his 20 seasons with the Lakers.

After retiring in 2016, he poured himself into storytelling, winning an Oscar in 2018 for his short film 'Dear Basketball' which was based on a poem he wrote.

Above all else, Bryant was a father who loved spending time with his four daughters. When the helicopter crashed, Bryant was headed to the Mamba Sports Academy, where he was going to coach Gianna in a basketball game.

"Everyone grieves in their own way," Zeidman said. "Me, personally, knowing Kobe for 24 years and the family for that long, it was amazing to me and overwhelming to me as it related to what people actually did. How much thought and how much trouble they actually went to to come down to L.A. Live from I believe all over the country and leave these tributes to Kobe, Gianna and the seven others that lost their lives."