Saturday is Aug. 24 — Kobe Bryant Day – and Los Angeles is honoring the late Lakers legend with events across the city.
8/24 commemorates Kobe’s two jersey numbers he wore during his 20-year career with the Lakers. It’s also the day after his birthday; he would have been 46 on Friday.
Among the most prominent of festivities is the 2nd annual Mamba League Invitational, where the most elite high school ballers in the nation will face off against each other.
The girls and boys basketball tournament, which began Friday and was created by Nike, continues into Saturday at L.A. Live, across from the house that Kobe built.
“Icons of tomorrow will honor the legacy of the Black Mamba in the most fitting way possible – through competition and never-ending pursuit for betterment,” Nike said.
Games begin at 3 p.m. Saturday, and entry and seating are first come, first served. Tip-off for the final match is scheduled for 8:24 p.m.
Prefer baseball but still want to honor Kobe? The Los Angeles Dodgers host the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night, and fans will have the opportunity to score a limited edition Showtime Lakers T-shirt that has cartoon sketches of Lakers legends with Dodger gear on.
The first 40,000 fans that arrive for Sunday’s game against the Rays will receive a special Kobe Bryant Dodgers jersey.
The Dodgers also honored Kobe on Friday night with a drone show after their 7-3 win over the Rays, where Shohei Ohtani became the fastest player to join the MLB’s 40/40 club on a walk off grand slam.
Those not able to make the tournament or the Dodger game can visit the recently-unveiled Kobe and Gigi Bryant statue outside Crypto.com Arena that honors his work as a “girl dad.”
KTLA 5’s Carlos Herrera spoke to one woman who traveled from the Bay Area to honor Kobe by visiting the statue, attending the tournament and then going to Chavez Ravine for the Dodger games on both Saturday and Sunday.
She said that she is not a Lakers fan, but a Kobe fan.
“Kobe inspires me to continue to keep being myself and never give up,” Liy Pinckney said. “I think that’s something which is very important going through life…the way that he supported women’s sports really set the tone for a lot of people…it’s something that’s great for the game and for women, especially [with him] being a girl dad.”