It was an emotional night as the Los Angeles Lakers stepped onto the courts for the first time since the tragic loss of a legend, one of their own, Kobe Bryant. The Lakers arranged a special pregame tribute ceremony for Bryant before the game against Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. LeBron James, a Laker for well over a year now, took the stage at the ceremony to speak about Kobe Bryant.

“The first thing that comes to my mind is all about family,” he said as he decided to put aside what he had written for the night, and speak his heart out. “As I look around this arena, we are all grieving, we are all hurt, we are all heartbroken. When we go into days like these, the best thing we can do is laying on the shoulders of your family.

“From Sunday morning, all those incidents I’ve heard about Lakers Nation before I got here last year about how much of a family it is, that is absolutely what I’ve seen this whole week.

“Not only from the players, not only from the coaching staff, not only from the organisation, but from everybody.

“This is truly a family,” he said.

Lebron James and Anthony Davis Share an Emotional Moment as Lakers Celebrate Kobe Bryant’s Career

Kobe Bryant came into the Lakers as a teenager and went out as one of the greats of the game.

“Tonight we celebrate the kid that came here at 18, retired at 38 and became probably the best dad we’ve seen over the last three years,” LeBron James said.

Kobe Bryant, a brother to LeBron James

LeBron said that Kobe was a “brother” to him and he would continue his legacy for as long as he could.

LeBron ended his speech by saying, “In the words of Kobe Bryant, ‘Mamba out.’ But in the words of us, ‘Not forgotten. Live on brother.’”

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