Plenty around the sports world paid tribute to Kobe and Gianna Bryant on Tuesday, exactly one year after they were killed in a helicopter crash outside of Los Angeles.
Trae Young, even though he had a game to focus on, made sure to honor the former Lakers great, too.
Young, late in their 108-99 win against the Los Angeles Clippers, threw up Bryant’s number near half court after sealing the win.
“The thing I take away the most is he stuck to his values throughout everything, whether it’s in his playing days or outside of it,” Young said after the game, via USA Today’s Mark Medina. “He was the same type of person. He attacked everything that he wanted and worked hard for it.”
Young led the Hawks with 38 points and five assists. De’Andre Hunter added 22 points, and Clint Capela finished wit 13 points and 18 rebounds. Reggie Jackson led the Clippers with 20 points and eight assists, and Serge Ibaka dropped 15 points. The Clippers were without both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, who are out under the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocol.
Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of the horrific helicopter crash outside of Los Angeles that killed Kobe, Gianna and seven others — something that sent shockwaves through the sports world.
Naturally, a year later, athletes rushed to pay tribute to Kobe and Gianna.
“I’d say the biggest thing, I’d say for me, what I miss is what I think he was becoming – which is a tremendous role model, a leader, specifically for women’s sports, for his daughters, the father figure that he was and is,” Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said, via Sarah Spencer of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
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