The basketball world was shaken by the loss of Kobe Bryant. Kobe and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were two of nine people that died tragically in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, Sunday.
As the Sixers took on the Warriors Tuesday, the team honored the memory of the NBA great and Philadelphia native in a variety of ways.
All the players came out to warmups wearing No. 8 and 24 jerseys.
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Joel Embiid received permission from Bobby Jones, whose No. 24 was retired in 1986, to wear the number for Tuesday's game.
The team had Bryant’s framed No. 33 jersey from Lower Merion High School spotlighted at center court. They had eight other spotlights, recognizing all the victims of the crash while also displaying their names on the scoreboard. Instead of the customary bell ringer, the bell was placed at center court and was rung nine times. They also had a 33-second moment of silence.
In lieu of the usual pregame introductions, they played Bryant’s introduction by PA announcer Matt Cord from Dec. 1, 2015, Kobe's last game in Philadelphia.
As other teams around the league have, the Sixers won the opening tip and took an eight-second violation. The Warriors then took a 24-second shot-clock violation.
Our own Serena Winters gave a personal, touching tribute of her own.