• NBA: The last conversation between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and the emotional farewell: "I will continue with your legacy"

On Friday it will be difficult to hold back the tears and undermine the sadness. Presumably, it will be another one of those emotional nights under the roof of the Staples Center , with Los Angeles present, from the unconditional ones and those who had the luxury of calling him a brother in life, to those who loved him and those who still can't stand the idea that he is gone. According to the ESPN network, Los Angeles Lakers are working to prepare a tribute to Kobe Bryant in the first official match the team will play after his death last Sunday.

There is no official confirmation yet about whether they will be present or not, but it is known that the Lakers have contacted Vanessa , the player's wife, and with the Philadelphia genius family to coordinate Friday's tribute. That after they pronounced - finally - on the death of their franchise player for 20 seasons through Twitter, and decided to cancel the game that was to face the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.

"The Los Angeles Lakers want to thank everyone for the tremendous cascade of support and condolences. This is a very difficult time for all of us," they wrote in the statement.

It would have been a drink too bitter for the squad to play on Tuesday , and especially for its star, LeBron James , deeply affected after the death of his friend. On Monday night he was encouraged to fire him through social networks with a heartbreaking message. His first words describe his mood. " I'm not ready but here I go ." On Friday he will have to face not only the Portland Trail Blazers , but one of the toughest moments of his career.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles continues to pay homage to the fallen idol. The famous Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard will give the plaque a prominent place with its prints, despite being a place reserved for the great figures of the cinema. In addition, his followers have left flowers at the entrance of the community where he lived in Newport Beach , at the gates of the basketball academy he had founded in Thousand Oaks , in various parts of Los Angeles where murals with Kobe's face were born, and of course, in front of the Staples Center, the 'zero zone' of tributes to the legend.

In the streets you can see taxis with the neon screen illuminated wearing 8 and 24, the two numbers that Bryant played with the Lakers, and many athlete's shirts. In East Los Angeles, where Latinos are the majority, those that have been put up for sale at street stalls have been sold out in the heat of the moment. Nike also seems to have had a lot of movement. Although ESPN initially reported that the brand had decided to stop selling player merchandise so as not to enrich itself with its death, a spokesman for the company confirmed to Forbes that they had to hang the sold out sign. The publication assures that they were likely to be low in inventory after Bryant's sudden death and the fact that sales had dropped significantly after his withdrawal in 2016.

Meanwhile, from the City Hall of Los Angeles they have already begun to plan the funeral events and the tribute of the city to the athlete . Eric Garcetti has indicated that they will give all possible support to Vanessa Bryant and his family for that farewell. "He, like the ocean, like the good weather we have, was an integral part not only of how we saw ourselves but of how the world saw us."

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