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The Los Angeles Lakers wore Black Mamba jerseys in the clash against the Denver Nuggets to honor the late Kobe Bryant. The Lakers paid tribute to Kobe Bryant by unveiling his bronze statue at the Star Plaza outside of Crypto.com Arena on February 8, Thursday. To make the occasion more special, the Lakers decided to wear special Black Mamba jerseys which were designed by Bryant himself. Bryant became the seventh Lakers star to be commemorated with a statue.
The Black Mamba uniforms feature a snakeskin-like black print with shadows on jersey numbers, a nod to detail from the Lakers’ uniforms from Bryant’s rookie season in 1996-97. Apart from this, the uniforms also include an ‘LA24’ on the belt and 8 and 24 under the flap of each leg of the shorts.
Shaq narrates emotional tribute to Kobe Bryant ahead of statue unveiling ceremony
Hours before the statue unveiling ceremony, NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal narrated an emotional tribute to the late NBA legend, who died in a helicopter crash in 2020. The video posted by the NBA showed some of Bryant’s best moments in his 20-year-long career, with Shaq calling Bryant the best teammate he ever had. In the video, he could be heard saying, “How do you get an NBA statue? You need to win. You need to change the game. You need to be monumental. Kobe Brant checks every box.”
He added, “Five-time champion, 18-time All-Star, the face of the Lakers for two decades. It was the most competitive flair I had ever seen and the best teammate I ever had. Now he joins basketball royalty with an official shrine in LA. Let the statue make one thing clear: Kobe Bryant is forever."
