Wrestling icon Ric Flair celebrated his 71st birthday by giving the Los Angeles Lakers a rousing introduction prior to their game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.

But Flair, whose trademark “WOO!” has been copied and immortalized by the sporting world, was initially hesitant to give the introduction.

Wrestling's greatest showman said he felt a little strange giving such an emphatic introduction so soon after the Lakers held a memorial for the late Kobe Bryant (via TMZ):

Naitch tells us the team asked him to help lift everyone's spirits following a deeply emotional memorial service for Kobe Bryant at Staples Center … but he was reluctant to accept.

“I felt a little bad that close to the memorial that was so overwhelming on Monday,” Flair tells us.”But, they asked me and I said ‘are you guys sure?' and they said ‘Yeah, please. The crowd needs to be pumped up a little bit.'”

Flair's introduction brought the house down ahead of L.A.'s win over the Pelicans in what served as a precursor to an electric evening. The mood in the Staples Center was drastically different than it had been on Monday, when the Lakers celebrated the life of Kobe and his daughter, Gianna.

There were certainly some moments of levity–from Michael Jordan bringing up the crying meme to Shaquille O'Neal telling a hilarious story–but there were still plenty of solemnities to go around.

The Lakers will now seek to honor Kobe's legacy by bringing the franchise its first NBA title since 2010 when Bryant and co. defeated the Boston Celtics in seven games.