TheNBA announced on Fridaythat jerseys for the 2020 All-Star Game will feature a special tribute to basketball legendKobe Bryant,his 13-year-old daughter,Gianna, and seven other victims of the Jan. 26 helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
To pay tribute to the other victims, both teams will wear patches with nine stars to represent all who were lost in the crash, includingJohn Altobelli,Keri Altobelli,Alyssa Altobelli,Sarah Chester, Payton Chester,Christina Mauserand pilotAra Zobayan.
The jerseys and patches will make their on-court debut at the All-Star Game on Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. ET.
Players not participating in the All-Star Game will also be commemorating the victims throughout the weekend, the NBA said. Participants in the Rising Stars and All-Star Saturday Night challenges will wear the nine-star patches that also feature both Bryant and Gianna’s numbers.
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.John McCoy/Getty Images
Rosters for Team LeBron and Team Giannis will be revealed on TNT on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. ET, the league included in their statement.
The jerseys aren’t the only changes coming to the annual game in the wake of Bryant’s death.
On Thursday, NBA officials announcedchanges to the All-Star Game itself that places a focus on charity.
Each quarter will play out as a sort of mini-game, with the score resetting back to 0-0 at the start of the second and third quarters. The team with the most points in each quarter — again, played out like its own game with the score resetting to zero — will win $100,000 for its chosen charity.
Allen Berezovsky/Getty
For example, if Team LeBron has a winning score of 100 at the start of the fourth quarter, 124 points will become the target score for either team to win. If Team Giannis only has 90 points at the start of the fourth, they will need to score 34 points to reach 124.
The winning team will earn another $200,000 for its charity.
If you would like to help the families of the victims of the crash, consider donating to theMamba on Three Fund. Contributions to theMamba Sports Foundationwill help support youth sports.
source: people.com
