The January 26 and 27 basketball games in 2020 were rough in the NBA, with Kobe Bryant tragically passing away on the 26th.
Many paid tribute to the Black Mamba on these days. Every team either took a 24-second or 8-second backcourt violation to honor Kobe.
This was the Dallas Mavericks’ first game after Kobe Bryant’s tragic death. Doncic had often cited Kobe as his idol growing up, and wore the Kobe 4 Protro prior to his recently signed Jordan Brand deal. For this one night, Doncic ditched his Jumpman sneakers for Kobes.
Doncic rocked the Kobe 5 Protro “Chaos” with “RIP KOBE”, “RIP GIGI”, and the numbers 2 (Gigi’s), 8 and 24 written in Sharpie. He also wrote RIP for the other people who perished in the helicopter crash: Christina Mauser and the Chester family.
In the Kobes, Doncic scored 29 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while getting the win against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Cover image via USA Today
