The Boston Celtics and New Orleans Pelicans didn't just honor Kobe Bryant before the start of their Sunday-night clash. They also honored him during it.
Before the game, the Smoothie King Arena held a moment of silence to honor Kobe and his daughter, Gianna, who died in a helicopter crash Sunday afternoon. Here's a look at that tribute via the Celtics on NBC Sports Boston's Twitter account.
The Pelicans show tribute to Kobe & Gianna Bryant with a 24 second moment of silence before the game pic.twitter.com/zj5lGoKp6v
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 26, 2020
And to kick off the game, the two teams did something that many teams across the league had done as a tribute to Bryant.
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The Pelicans won the opening tip of the contest and got the ball to Lonzo Ball. After he crossed the halfcourt line, he stood just a few steps away from the Pelicans logo on center court and let the shot clock wind down to zero.
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And on their ensuing possession, Kemba Walker and the Celtics did the same thing, as you can see in this video.
The Celtics and Pelicans both let the shot clock run out on their first possessions to pay tribute to Kobe #2⃣4⃣ pic.twitter.com/8WQq5A8Kto
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 26, 2020
The reason that the two sides did this? Bryant wore the No. 24 for the second half of his career. So, the two 24-second violations were a nod to him.
As mentioned, a number of NBA teams did this on Sunday and it was started by the Toronto Raptors and the San Antonio Spurs. And truly, doing this a beautiful way to honor the lasting legacy of Bryant, who had a massive impact on the league and an entire generation of NBA players.
Don't miss NBC Sports Boston's coverage of Celtics-Pelicans, which begins Sunday at 5:30 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live, followed by tip-off at 6 p.m. You can also stream the game on the MyTeams App.
