A tearful Michael Jordan on Monday remembered his “little brother” Kobe Bryant at a star-filled memorial in Los Angeles for the basketball great and his daughter, Gianna, who died with seven others in a helicopter crash last month.
“When Kobe Bryant died, a piece of me died, and as I look in this arena, across the globe, a piece of you died,” Jordan said with tears streaming down his face.
“I promise you, from this day forward, I will live with the memories and knowing that I had a little brother,” added Jordan, widely regarded as the greatest NBA player in history. “I tried to help in every way I could. Please rest in peace, little brother.”
Photo: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
The public memorial — dubbed “A Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant” — was held at Staples Center, the arena where Bryant wowed fans for 17 years, and known as “the house that Kobe built.”
The 2/24 date carried special significance as it coincides with Bryant’s jersey number — “24” — and Gianna’s “2” jersey number.
Shaquille O’Neal also spoke at the ceremony, drawing cheers as he recalled the three NBA titles that he and Bryant won together.
Photo: Reuters
“Kobe and I have pushed one another to play some of the greatest basketball of all time and I am proud that no other team has accomplished the three-peat the Lakers have done since Shaq-and-the-Kobe Lakers did it,” O’Neal said.
He also spoke of their well-known feuding, saying that even though “we fought, bantered or insulted each other with off-handed remarks,” there was mutual respect between the pair.
“Make no mistake. Folks thought we were on bad terms, [but] when the cameras were turned off, he and I would throw a wink at each other,” O’Neal said.
Beyonce, backed by a choir, opened the ceremony with one of Bryant’s favorite songs XO, followed by Halo.
“I’m here because I love Kobe,” said the singer, who was dressed in a golden suit — the color of the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant’s team for two decades.
Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, paid a tearful tribute to her 41-year-old husband and middle daughter, saying she could not fathom life without them and describing Kobe Bryant as “my everything.”
“God knew they couldn’t be on this earth without each other,” she said in her first public remarks since the Jan. 26 crash. “He had to bring them home together.”
She spoke of her heartbreak at not being able to watch Gianna — who was 13 and one of couple’s four daughters —grow up and missing important moments of her life.
“I won’t be able to tell her how gorgeous she looks on her wedding day,” Vanessa Byrant said through tears, receiving a standing ovation for the tribute. “I’ll never get to see my baby girl walk down the aisle, have a father-daughter dance with her daddy.”
Earlier in the day, her lawyers filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the operators of the helicopter involved in the crash.
The lawsuit names Island Express Helicopters, Island Express Holding Corp and the estate of the helicopter’s pilot, Ara Zobayan, who was among the victims.
The US National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the exact cause of the crash, although preliminary findings showed no sign of mechanical failure.
An endangered baby pygmy hippopotamus that shot to social media stardom in Thailand has become a lucrative source of income for her home zoo, quadrupling its ticket sales, the institution said Thursday. Moo Deng, whose name in Thai means “bouncy pork,” has drawn tens of thousands of visitors to Khao Kheow Open Zoo this month. The two-month-old pygmy hippo went viral on TikTok and Instagram for her cheeky antics, inspiring merchandise, memes and even craft tutorials on how to make crocheted or cake-based Moo Dengs at home. A zoo spokesperson said that ticket sales from the start of September to Wednesday reached almost
‘BARBAROUS ACTS’: The captain of the fishing vessel said that people in checkered clothes beat them with iron bars and that he fell unconscious for about an hour Ten Vietnamese fishers were violently robbed in the South China Sea, state media reported yesterday, with an official saying the attackers came from Chinese-flagged vessels. The men were reportedly beaten with iron bars and robbed of thousands of dollars of fish and equipment on Sunday off the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), which Taiwan claims, as do Vietnam, China, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines. Vietnamese media did not identify the nationalities of the attackers, but Phung Ba Vuong, an official in central Quang Ngai province, told reporters: “They were Chinese, [the boats had] Chinese flags.” Four of the 10-man Vietnamese crew were rushed
CHINESE ICBM: The missile landed near the EEZ of French Polynesia, much to the surprise and concern of the president, who sent a letter of protest to Beijing Fijian President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere called for “respect for our region” and a stop to missile tests in the Pacific Ocean, after China launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). In a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Katonivere recalled the Pacific Ocean’s history as a nuclear weapons testing ground, and noted Wednesday’s rare launch by China of an ICBM. “There was a unilateral test firing of a ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean. We urge respect for our region and call for cessation of such action,” he said. The ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead, was launched by the
As violence between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, Iran is walking a tightrope by supporting Hezbollah without being dragged into a full-blown conflict and playing into its enemy’s hands. With a focus on easing its isolation and reviving its battered economy, Iran is aware that war could complicate efforts to secure relief from crippling sanctions. Cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah, sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year, has intensified, especially after last week’s sabotage on Hezbollah’s communications that killed 39 people. Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon followed, killing hundreds. Hezbollah retaliated with rocket barrages. Despite the surge in
RSS