The Lakers feted Kobe Bryant throughout his final NBA game last night, giving him a "goodbye gift" of a "championship-like ring with five large diamonds on it (one for each title he won) and 20 smaller diamonds (one for each of his playing years)," according to Mike Bresnahan of the L.A. TIMES. The team "gave the same ring to his wife, Vanessa, who sat across from the Lakers' bench along with the couple's two daughters" (L.A. TIMES, 4/14). In California, Bill Oram writes the night was "dominated by video tributes, featuring celebrities from Taylor Swift and Ellen Degeneres, to NBA stars" like Cavaliers F LeBron James. Former and current teammates also "weighed in" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 4/14). In L.A., Mark Whicker writes there were "tributes on the video board" at every timeout, "from NBA stars, old teammates, coaches, singers, actors, talk-show hosts and athletes across the spectrum," all the way to Capitals LW Alex Ovechkin and tennis player Novak Djokovic (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 4/14).
WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD: The L.A. TIMES' Bresnahan notes there were "about 25 of Bryant's former teammates" at last night's game, including Shaquille O'Neal, Robert Horry, Rick Fox, Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher. Numerous celebrities "prerecorded words of gratitude shown on the scoreboard during timeouts," including Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian (L.A. TIMES, 4/14). In N.Y., Tyler Kepner notes actor Jack Nicholson, Baseball HOFers Frank Robinson and Dave Winfield, Jay Z and Adam Levine also were in attendance (N.Y. TIMES, 4/14). Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea "set the stage for the thrilling game with a vocal-free rendition" of the National Anthem while "wearing a complimentary Lakers yellow hat and sweatshirt" (RADIO.com, 4/14).
GLAD FOR A CHANGE TO CELEBRATE: Lakers Exec VP/Business Operations Jeanie Buss earlier this week said the team was glad it had the chance to honor Bryant, noting that was something the team was able to do for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar but it "didn't have that opportunity" with Magic Johnson. Buss said, "After Magic retired and we struggled through the mid-'90s, I said to myself, 'If I'm so fortunate to ever be graced by the presence of such talent, I will do everything that I can to honor that talent.'" Buss said that the team was "already planning to honor Bryant in his 20th season, so it took just a slight tweak when Bryant announced in November that he would retire after this campaign." Buss: "The goal was to celebrate 20 years of Kobe. ... When he decided to announce that he was retired, it was kind of like we already had these things in place anyway, and we just made it more about retirement" (ESPN.com, 4/13).
PARTNERS IN TIME: Bryant following last night's game was seen wearing a BodyArmor towel on his head, supporting the sports drink company he invested in two years ago. Notably, Gatorade is an NBA league sponsor (THE DAILY).
