The NBA did not cancel games shortly after news broke of Kobe Bryant and 13-year-old daughter Gianni perishing in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Sunday afternoon. The Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs took turns incurring 24-second violations to start their game today to honor the memory of the Los Angeles Lakers and future Hall of Fame shooting guard.
In an obvious tribute to Kobe Bryant, Fred VanVleet opened the game by holding the ball after passing halfcourt for a 24-second violation. Dejounte Murray is now doing the same for the Spurs. All of this going on as the fans rise, applaud and chant Kobe.
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) January 26, 2020
Remarkable moment to start the Raptors-Spurs game. pic.twitter.com/thmt9ZU1Ra
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 26, 2020
Bryant was a fierce adversary of the Spurs in particular over the years, battling five-time champion head coach Gregg Popovich and his team while both San Antonio and Los Angeles dominated the Western Conference in the early 2000s.
Bryant, dead at 41, also scored his career-high 81 points in a single game, second behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100, against the Raptors in 2006.
Despite the truly tragic news on Sunday, so far the NBA's slate of games is occurring but not without the emotional weight of Bryant's passing hanging over players, coaches, and officials.
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