Kobe Bryant Day

Kobe Bryant Day is celebrated on August 24 not only in Los Angeles, but all over the world by all basketball and NBA fans. This is a sad holiday that is a day of remembrance for NBA star and Los Angeles Lakers team Black Mamba Bryant. For his family and all the fans, he forever remained 41 years old, and his second daughter Gianna (Gigi, Mambasite, as her family and friends also called her) – forever 13.

History

On January 26, 2020, Kobe, with his daughter and 6 family friends, flew in a private helicopter piloted by Ara Zobayan from Orange to Ventura for a match scheduled in Thousand Oaks. The weather that day was unfavorable for flights. At 09.45, a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter crashed into a mountain slope near the city of Colobassas in thick fog. The pilot and all passengers were killed.

On February 7, 2020, Kobe and Gianna Bryant were buried at the Pacific View Memorial Park in Newport Beach in western Orange County. A public commemoration ceremony was scheduled for February 24 (Kobe played at number 24, Gianna – 2, February – the second month).

7 months after the tragedy, on August 12, 2020, the Orange Board of Supervisors voted to declare August 24 Kobe Bryant Day. Chairman Michelle Steele’s proposal was accepted unanimously. As a member of the California Congress, Steele submitted a resolution to recognize the holiday as a National Day. It happened on July 27, 2021.

The date of the holiday is chosen symbolically: 8/24. Kobe began his career with the Lakers wearing the number 8 jersey and ended it with the number 24.

Interesting facts

Did you know that:

1. In December 2017, Kobe’s team retired both of his numbers. He became the first player in the history of the Lakers, in whose honor 2 numbers were displayed at once.
2. Bryant has 6 NBA records and 5 championship titles.
3. Black Mamba was a fan of AC Milan.
4. In 2007, Kobe and his wife Vanessa founded the KVBFF Family Charitable Foundation to help young athletes.
5. In 2018, Kobe won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

How to celebrate

Celebrate Kobe Bryant Day in Los Angeles. Look at the murals on the walls – more than 300 drawings are dedicated to Mamba and Mambesite.

When is Kobe Bryant Day celebrated in 2022?

Kobe Bryant Day is observed on August 24 each year.

Observations