The Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles is the place to be at 10 a.m., Pacific time. NBA fans, basketball players, former players and a host of other dignitaries -- rumor has it former President Barack Obama too -- will appear for a memorial service celebrating the lives of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. They died, with seven others, in a helicopter crash Jan. 26.

Monday (Feb. 24) was chosen in recognition of the jersey numbers Kobe (24) and Gianna (2) wore on the basketball court.

The House That Kobe Built, aka Staples Center, is expecting a full house of more than 20,000 people for the remembrance. Many will be lucky fans who won a lottery from which 80,000 applied. The general public had to register online. Tickets were sold in three tiers, $224 each, $224 for two or $24.02, by the Lakers. Proceeds will go to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation.

One of Kobe’s nicknames was Black Mamba. Gianna’s moniker was Mambacita. Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s widow, renamed the foundation on Feb. 14 to include Mambacita.

Kobe Bryant, a five-time NBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist, is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players in history
Kobe Bryant, a five-time NBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, was widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players in history. AFP / Emmanuel DUNAND

An official guest list has not been released. The Lakers, including management; the Clippers; the Pelicans; the Houston Rockets ; James Harden and Russell Westbrook and the University of Oregon ’s Sabrina Ionescu are expected to be there. The Clippers host the Pelicans later in the day at Staples Center.

Ionescu is expected to address the crowd. Arrangements have been made to fly her to Stanford for an evening game, according to ESPN. Kobe and Gianna had traveled to Oregon to see Ionescu play, and they had become close. Ionescu is one of the best women playing in the NCAA this season.

Bill Russell sported a Lakers 24 jersey at the Lakers-Celtics game Sunday. He is a likely guest.

The memorial service will be live streamed on the Lakers Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages, as well as on Spectrum SportsNet, the regional network that airs the team’s games, according to the Lakers. NBA TV is also slated to broadcast the service.

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