Sikhs donning Kobe Bryant t-shirts pay tributes to basketball legend at US Gurdwara

PTI, Feb 13, 2020, 5:37 PM IST

New York: Several Sikhs wearing Kobe Bryant t-shirts in the US state of California organized a prayer meeting for the basketball legend who was killed in a helicopter crash outside Los Angeles last month.

The meet was organized in Gurdwara Nanaksar in Fresno city on Monday, ahead of a memorial service for Bryant and his daughter Gianna on February 24 at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

The 41-year-old Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among nine people killed in the January 26 helicopter crash in the Santa Monica Mountains west of Los Angeles. Multiple reports suggested that the chopper was flying under cloudy conditions.

Bryant was a household name in every Sikh home, according to basketball media outlet Ball Don’t Stop which posted on Twitter a picture of the Gurdwara showing Sikh worshippers praying for the basketball legend.

“Sikhs praying for Kobe and the victims at the temple. This hits home. Kobe Bryant was a household name in every Sikh home. Your grandpa and grandma didn’t know what hoop was, but they knew Kobe. They know how special he was,” it said in a tweet.

Ekam Nagra, the founder of Ball Don’t Stop media outlet, praised Bryant in a video message posted on his Instagram and Twitter handles, saying he considers him the best player of the sport ever.

“We have not seen this type of mastery at this level, Michael (Jordan) included. I have never seen a guy that polished, that complete… He was fundamentally sound, knowing when to make a certain move, knowing how to counter that move.

“This dude had everything in the toolbox unmatched. I am sorry Michael did not see these types of dudes in the opposition,” Nagra said.

Bryant and his daughter Gianna were buried last week near their family home in Newport Beach, California in a private ceremony, according to media reports.

His wife Vanessa on Monday expressed her grief on Instagram, saying “my brain refuses to accept that both Kobe and Gigi are gone”.

Bryant played with the Los Angeles Lakers.

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