In a show of ultimate respect for one of basketball’s greats, the NBA has postponed the Lakers’ game against the Clippers on Tuesday night at Staples Center in Los Angeles as the city grieves for Kobe Bryant.
Following a day of discussions about whether or not to play the game, the Lakers asked for the contest be moved to a different date and the Clippers honored that request
To make up for the move out of primetime, the Celtics-Heat game has been shifted and will now be played at 8 p.m. tomorrow
The Lakers, who also canceled their practice on Monday, released the following statement: “The Los Angeles Lakers would like to thank all of you for the tremendous outpouring of support and condolences. This is a very difficult time for all of us. We continue to support the Bryant family and will share more information as it is available.”
Clippers’ coach Doc Rivers, who became extremely emotional speaking to the media about Bryant’s passing before getting his team ready to play on Sunday, likely had no issue with moving the game.
Doc Rivers broke down in tears talking about Kobe Bryant 😭 pic.twitter.com/FXXZ47nwwq
— Athlete Swag (@AthleteSwag) January 26, 2020
“The decision was made out of respect for the Lakers organization, which is deeply grieving the tragic loss of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people in a helicopter crash on Sunday,” the NBA said in a statement.
Bryant, who will be posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the 2020 class, spent his entire 20-year NBA career playing for the Lakers and brought the NBA championship home to Los Angeles five times., winning Finals MVP twice.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing, but it seems likely the tragedy was at least partially caused by poor weather conditions that had police choppers grounded.
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