Report: Carmelo Anthony Not Expected to Play vs. Lakers While Grieving Kobe Bryant's Death

Carmelo Anthony is reportedly not expected to play vs. the Lakers on Friday night while he is still mourning Kobe Bryant's death.

Jenna West | Jan 31, 2020

Report: Carmelo Anthony Not Expected to Play vs. Lakers While Grieving Kobe Bryant's Death /

Carmelo Anthony is not expected to play with the Trail Blazers against the Lakers on Friday night, according to Stadium's Shams Charania.

According to Charania, Anthony will miss the game while he is still mourning Kobe Bryant's death. Anthony and Bryant were set to have dinner together in Los Angeles on Thursday night.

Blazers PR announced on Thursday that Anthony did not fly with the team to Los Angeles.

Anthony posted a tribute to Bryant on Instagram on Wednesday saying the Lakers legend was supposed to attend Friday night's game. He also said he recently spoke with Bryant about coaching his 13-year-old daughter Gianna's team, and Anthony joked with Bryant that he needed to give the team a day off.

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Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant and seven others died in a helicopter crash in California on Sunday. They were traveling from Orange County, Calif., to Thousand Oaks, Calif., for a basketball game at Mamba Sports Academy, where Bryant coached his daughter.

Anthony played in Sunday's game against the Pacers and opened up about the bond he shared with Bryant after the contest.

"Our friendship and relationship was deeper than basketball," he said. "It was family. It was friendship. Basketball was the last piece of connective tissue between those two.

The Trail Blazers and Lakers will face off at 10:30 p.m. ET on Friday night.