LOS ANGELES — Staples Center is the arena Kobe Bryant built.
Without the draw that was Kobe and Shaq, AEG (the owner of the NHL’s Kings) could never have built a new arena in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Back in 1999, when Staples opened, few people lived in the area and nobody went downtown at night. Except they would to see Kobe.
Starting tonight, Kobe’s initials will be on the floor at Staples Center for Lakers games, as well as on the team’s jerseys for the rest of the season.
The House That Kobe Built pic.twitter.com/1exfvaXnE8
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 31, 2020
2 ♾ 8 pic.twitter.com/DeKsRqcTry
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 31, 2020
Friday night is the first Lakers game since the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
It will be a celebration of Kobe’s legacy and an emotional night for everyone involved. Fans have put together a memorial at LA Live, Lakers players and staff of the Lakers have been devastated, and the entire city of Los Angeles — who had followed Kobe’s career from being a precocious 18-year-old gunner to his 60-point career finale — is in mourning.
Fans in the arena will have Kobe jerseys to wear.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 31, 2020
It’s going to be a powerful night for everyone.