Athletes, teams pay tribute to Kobe Bryant before his final game
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Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant will play the final game of his 20-season career on Wednesday, and many athletes and teams across the sports world have found ways to pay tribute to Bryant upon his retirement.
FC Barcelona created a tribute video for Bryant that included comments from Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique. TNT analyst and former player Charles Barkley wore special “Mamba Day” shoes on air and said it had been “an honor and privilege” to watch Bryant play.
Many NBA teams hosting Bryant for the final time honored him with pre-game tribute packages.
[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkUl4sSjp9k]
[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIn50SAaefc]
Some NBA legends, such as former Lakers guard Jerry West and Hornets owner Michael Jordan, gave Kobe their own special goodbyes.
Other athletes took to Twitter to salute Bryant.
Nike rolled out a Mamba Day campaign, and stars such as Odell Beckham Jr., Rob Gronkowski, Tiger Woods, Alessandro Florenzi, Mo Farah and Allyson Felix all contributed by tweeting corresponding images. The shoe company also released a video with athletes discussing their Kobe memories.
[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hi0skAwlHM]
Rapper Kendrick Lamar made a tribute video of his own with a song mentioning the highlights of Bryant’s career.
