The New York Knicks are hosting the Brooklyn Nets at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night, but before they started play, the ‘Bockers adorned the arena with purple and gold lighting in memory of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
Bryant tragically passed away in a helicopter accident on Sunday morning.
The outside of MSG is now purple and gold pic.twitter.com/XhIAaGQL8l
— KnicksNation (@KnicksNation) January 26, 2020
The commemoration of Bryant's life continued inside of “The Mecca.” The Knicks held a pregame ceremony in memory of the Lakers great and covered the “pinwheel” ceiling in purple and gold:
Pregame tribute for Kobe pic.twitter.com/SwDnZy0zkD
— Mike Mazzeo (@MazzNYC) January 26, 2020
Garden pinwheel ceiling will be purple and gold pic.twitter.com/p2RLuqZdSh
— Mike Mazzeo (@MazzNYC) January 26, 2020
MSG pic.twitter.com/UN7y7CKDt5
— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) January 26, 2020
The Knicks then held a moment of silence, after which — in a similar vein to the pregame moment of silence held in Denver — the fans suddenly erupted into “Ko-be” chants that echoed throughout the arena.
Madison Square Garden holds a 24-second moment of silence, crowd erupts into “KOBE” chants. pic.twitter.com/CqKFEU5zMC
— Anthony Puccio (@APOOCH) January 26, 2020
Moreover, Chris Iseman of North Jersey reported on the somber mood in New York, citing that the Knicks and Nets also took a 24-second shot-clock violation as the start of the game as a further tribute to Kobe.
Once the game began, the Nets first took a 24-second shot-clock violation, and then the Knicks did the same, a tribute that was adopted around the NBA on Sunday.
No music or noise was played during the game, with only the sounds of squeaking sneakers, the dribbles of the ball and the public address announcer Mike Walczewski announcing the field goals.
Kobe Bryant always appreciated playing at Madison Square Garden. In fact, next Saturday will mark the 11th anniversary of his 61-point performance against the Knicks on Feb. 2, 2009. At the time, that was the MSG scoring record.
Basketball mourns the loss of the Lakers great and his young daughter Gianna. From former competitors to current players that grew up idolizing him and legends of the game, the NBA community have expressed an outpouring of emotion and memories on Sunday.