The Los Angeles Lakers will begin their hopeful quest for a 17th championship — and first in a decade — on Tuesday when they face the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 1 of their first round matchup in Orlando. For LeBron James, it’ll be business as usual trying to make a run to an NBA Finals, but for Anthony Davis and many of the rest of the Lakers key contributors it will be a new experience.
The last time the Lakers had a top star with serious postseason experience it was Kobe Bryant leading the Lakers to titles in 2009 and 2010, and if L.A. gets beyond the first round of the playoffs this year they have plans to honor their former star. According to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers will wear their Black Mamba jerseys for the conference semifinals and beyond should they make it through the red-hot Blazers, paying tribute to Kobe’s legacy.
Sources: If Lakers advance past 1st round of playoffs over Portland, they plan to wear the Black Mamba jersey in honor of Kobe Bryant in following rounds. Jersey features a snakeskin print on the outside. Bryant, daughter Gianna and 7 others died in a helicopter crash in January.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) August 17, 2020
It’ll be the latest effort of the team to honor the star who died tragically in January in a helicopter crash, as the team hosted an emotional remembrance of Bryant prior to their first game back after his death and have consistently spoken about how his memory is always with them. This year’s playoff run figured to feature plenty of Kobe tributes should they have been playing at home in L.A., so wearing their snakeskin Black Mamba uniforms is a nice way to bring that to the Orlando Bubble.