The National Basketball
Association (NBA) has made plans
for honoring the fallen basketball legend, Kobe Bryant who
passed away in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna,
and seven others.
And it looks like the plan is
taking excellent shape at this weekend in an All-Star Game in Chicago.
Jennifer
Hudson’s Contribution
Windy City native and Grammy
Award winner, Jennifer Hudson will perform a befitting tribute to Kobe
Bryant, his first daughter, and the others who were killed on January 26. The
NBA announced this on Thursday morning. Hudson will be performing before the
introduction of players for Sunday’s 69th All-Star Game.
Chaka
Khan will sing the National Anthem
But before tip-off, another
Grammy winner – who is also a native of Chicago – Chaka Khan will sing the
United States national anthem. Tenille Arts, a country musician, will sing the
Canadian national anthem.
Chance
the Rapper Speaks
Chance the Rapper, another
Chicago native and a Grammy winner, was previously scheduled as the halftime
performer for the All-Star Game. The NBA, however, has announced Thursday that
the rap musician will share the platform with DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, and Quavo.
Chance, in a TNT promo
released earlier this week, stated: “NBA All-Star. It happens every year. But this
year is different. The game will have more meaning than it’s ever had before.
“The league, the players, the
fans will all pay tribute to the legendary Kobe Bryant. For an entire
generation, he defined the title ‘NBA All-Star’.
“Chicago will glow with
warmth and brilliance that it’s never had before. It’s the ultimate
celebration.”
NBA
Changes Format for this Year’s All-Star Game
Two weeks ago, the National
Basketball Association announced the changes
in their regular format for this year’s All-Star Game which
includes tributes to both Bryant and his daughter, a budding basketball player
herself. LeBron James’ team will wear Gianna’s jersey No. 2 while the team
captained by Giannis Antetokounmpo will wear Bryant’s No. 24.
Some of the changes in the
All-Star Game include turning every quarter into what is referred to as a
“mini-game” for charity. This will be just before an untimed fourth quarter in
which to determine who wins the game.
However, for this fourth
quarter, there will be a target score which will be set by the total points the
team that is in the lead scored over the first three quarters, then plus 24 in
another moving tribute to Kobe Bryant.
NBA
All-Star Weekend
This is a weekend festival
that is held every February during the middle of the NBA regular season. It
usually consists of a variety of performances, events, and exhibitions which
culminate in the NBA All-Star Game held on Sunday night.
No regular-season games will
hold during the period – which is a 3-day event from Friday to Sunday – of the
All-Star Game, and this is why this is also known as the All-Star break. It
usually occurs right after the trade deadline.
The first time the All-Star
Game was held was at the Boston Garden on March 2, 1951.
