LOS ANGELES — Thousands of people are expected to gather around Staples Center on Monday for the public ceremony to honor Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and seven other people who died in a helicopter crash last month. The Kobe Bryant public memorial has been a highly anticipated event for weeks as fans continue to react to Kobe’s death.
Vanessa Bryant described the memorial service as “a Celebration of Life,” and comes a few weeks after the Lakers did the same for Kobe late last month.
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Kobe was 41. He had a 20-year NBA career that will send him to the Hall of Fame (once he becomes eligible). He was a five-time NBA Champion, a 15-time All-NBA player, NBA MVP, two-time scoring champion, two-time Finals MVP, 18-time All-Star, a two-time Gold Medalist for Team USA, and a player who influenced a generation who came up after him. His work ethic was legendary and was part of what rubbed off on LeBron and many others.
Here’s what to know about the event:
When and where is the memorial?
The memorial is today (Feb. 24) at 1 p.m. ET at Staples Center, the arena where Kobe played for most of his entire 20-year NBA career. (He played for two seasons at the Forum in L.A.) It’s being done today to honor the No. 24 jersey Kobe wore for much of his career.
It comes the day after the Lakers played host to their longtime rivals, the Boston Celtics.
How can you watch?
The event will be livestreamed by several outlets, including NBCNews.com or on the NBC News app.
The demand for the memorial has been high and all tickets for the event have been sold. (They were priced at $224 each, $224 for two and $24.02, all nods to Kobe’s jersey number and the No. 2 his daughter, Gianna, wore.)
Where do the event proceeds go?
All proceeds will go to Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, that “exists to further Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s legacy through charitable endeavors in sports,” according to its website.