The public memorial for KOBE and GIANNA BRYANT was yesterday at the Staples Center in L.A. There were more than 20,000 family members, friends, and fans in attendance.The whole thing was filled with symbolism. The date was 2/24: Gianna wore number 2, and of course Kobe wore number 24 for the second half of his career.
Tickets were priced at three tiers: $224 each, two for $224, and $24.02 each.Proceeds from the tickets will be donated to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.
There was a rose for every point Kobe scored in the NBA, that's 33,643 placed around the center stage.
There were a ton of basketball legends there, including Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Phil Jackson, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade, Tony Parker, Steve Nash, Elgin Baylor, Paul Pierce, Gregg Popovich, Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker, Doc Rivers, Steph Curry, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, Scottie Pippen, Draymond Green, Russell Westbrook, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
Beyonce, Alicia Keyes and Christina Aguilera performed too.
Jimmy Kimmel hosted the memorial, and among other things, he said, quote, "I've been trying to come up with something positive to take away from this, and it's hard because there isn't much…"The best thing I think I was able to come up with is this: Gratitude. It seems to me that all we can do is be grateful for the time we have with them. And for the time we have left with each other. And that's all."
Kobe's widow Vanessa gave two powerful eulogies… of Gianna, she said, quote, "Gigi was sunshine. She brightened up my day every day. She was our shepherd. She was daddy's girl, but I know she loves her mama. And she would always tell me and show me how much she loved me. She was one of my very best friends. She loved cake. She loved putting a smile on everyone's face."
And of Kobe, she said, quote, "Kobe was known as a fierce competitor on the basketball court, but to me, he was Kobe-Kobe, my boo-boo, my bay-boo.Kobe and I have been together since I was 17-and-a-half years old. I was his first girlfriend, his first love, his wife, his best friend. I have no idea how I deserved a man that loved and wanted me more than Kobe." She also said he once gave her the actual blue dress that Rachel McAdams wore in movie, "The Notebook".
Shaq, Diana Taurasi, Geno Auriemma, and Michael Jordan all spoke too. Shaq told a joke. He said he once told Kobe, quote, "There's no 'I' in team." And Kobe replied, "Yeah, but there's an "M" and an "E" in that mother[effer]." Michael Jordan started crying when he spoke, and that reminded people, including Michael himself, of the crying-Michael meme. He said, quote, "Now, he's got me, I got to look at another crying-meme of me.
(photo Getty Images)