LeBron James’ Kobe Bryant Pregame Speech Goes Viral
LeBron James’ Kobe Bryant pregame speech went viral on Friday night.
Before the Los Angeles Lakers tipped off against the Portland Trail Blazers, James gave a special speech dedicated to Bryant.
It was the Lakers’ first game since Bryant’s tragic death in a helicopter crash this past Sunday morning.
Bryant, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others perished in the accident.
James started by reading off a list of all the names of the people on the helicopter that day.
Then, as he was moving on to read a prepared speech about Bryant, he changed his mind.
“Laker nation, I would be selling y’all short if I read off this shit. So I’m going straight from the heart.” – LeBron #MambaForever
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) February 1, 2020
“Laker nation, I would be selling y’all short if I read off this s–t,” he said.
“So I’m going straight from the heart.”
James then gave a beautiful speech describing what Bryant meant to everyone and how to move on from what transpired.
“Tonight we celebrate the kid that came here at 18, retired at 38 and became probably the best dad we’ve seen over the last three years.” pic.twitter.com/0sS7e91cuz
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 1, 2020
Finally, he closed it out with the ultimate tribute to the Lakers legend.
“So in the words of Kobe Bryant, ‘Mamba Out,’” he said.
“But in the words of us, not forgotten. Live on brother.”
Unfortunately, the Lakers ultimately ended up losing Friday night’s outing 127-119.
Related: 49ers Issue Final Super Bowl Injury Report For Tevin Coleman
Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
