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Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young began Sunday evening's game against the Washington Wizards by unveiling a No. 8 jersey in honor of his idol, Kobe Bryant, who passed away in a tragic helicopter accident on Sunday morning in Calabasas.
Young ended the first half by drilling a half-court buzzer-beater, appearing to dedicate the shot to Bryant:
After starting the night off in Kobe Bryant's iconic No. 8, Trae knocks down a half-court buzzer-beater going into the half and appears to say it's for Kobe 🙏 pic.twitter.com/hXNkBcxwWe
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) January 27, 2020
The 21-year-old was extremely emotional prior to Sunday's game. Young took to Twitter to discuss his emotions following news of Kobe Bryant's death:
All the Lessons
All the Advice
Every word you ever told me…
Will stick with me foreverThank You Kobe🙏🏽❤️ pic.twitter.com/WPCdHg3iyt
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) January 26, 2020
Young also mourned the loss of Bryant's daughter, Gianna, who was among the nine people in the helicopter during the fatal crash. Kobe had said during an episode of Showtime's “All The Smoke” Podcast that Young was Gianna's favorite player:
…This S*** can’t be real… this the first moment I was able to meet Gianna Maria, she’s been to only 3 games this year… 2 of them were mine… She told me I was her favorite player to watch🙏🏽 I can’t believe this😢😭
Rest Easy Gigi❤️ pic.twitter.com/IfDrE9Gjlv
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) January 26, 2020
A number of players were understandably emotional prior to and even during their games on Sunday.
Young is honoring Bryant and his daughter in tremendous fashion. He had 37 points and 13 assists with under nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
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