A memorial service celebrating the lives of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna will be held Monday, Feb. 24, at Staples Center in downtown L.A. The date reflects the basketball jersey numbers worn by Kobe (No. 24) and Gianna (No. 2).
The service will be held just under a month after Bryant, 13-year-old Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Jan. 26.
More than 20,000 friends, family and those who acquired tickets through a lottery — 80,000 applied — are expected to crowd into the arena, with proceeds benefitting the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.
Included will be NBA luminaries such as the Houston Rockets’ James Harden and Russell Westbrook, fresh off a game Saturday night, and Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu, who is scheduled to address the crowd and then fly to her game at Stanford. Kobe and Gigi had flown to Oregon to see Ionescu play, and they had become close.
It isn’t known whether Kobe’s wife, Vanessa, and their three daughters, Natalia, Bianca and Capri — or his parents, Joe and Pam — will attend .
The Lakers are expected to arrive in a large group, including management, coaches and players, and so are members of the LA Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies, who play at Staples on Monday night.
A Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant will air live on ESPN, the ESPN app and ESPN Radio at 1 p.m. ET.
— Shelley Smith
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