NBA All-Star: Reporter Accidentally Calls LeBron James Kobe. Here’s How The Veteran Reacts
KEY POINTS
- Team LeBron defeated Team Gianna 157-155 in Bryant's tribute match
- Bryant and Gianna died in a helicopter crash last month
- Bryant was like a brother to James
The NBA All-Star game Sunday saw several tributes paid to Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna but the final once came when LeBron James was answering reporters’ questions.
Bryant and Gianna were among the nine people who were killed in the California helicopter crash last month. It was a no-brainer that a basketball match was the most fitting tribute to Bryant, one of the best NBA players of all time. Bryant was a proud father as his daughter was following his footsteps. They were heading for Gianna’s basketball match when the fatal accident took place.
The tribute match saw the best basketball players in the world come together, play and think about one of the greatest players in history. The two teams were named Team Gianna and Team LeBron.
![Kobe Bryant LeBron James](https://d.ibtimes.com/en/full/854585/kobe-bryant-lebron-james.jpg?w=430&f=79c19311958cbf957e3de63433dba200)
Team LeBron, who wore No. 2 in honor of Gianna, won the match 157-155 against Team Giannis, who wore Bryant's No. 24 jersey. After the match, when James came on the podium for the press conference, a reporter while asking him a question accidentally called him by Kobe’s name.
Bryant was in the minds of all that weekend and it was clearly an honest mistake by the reporter. James understood the situation before adding his mother will not like it.
“I don't mind being Kobe this weekend," said James before the reporter then apologized.
“That's fine. My mom might not like it, but I'm okay with it,” the Los Angeles Lakers veteran added.
Bryant was like a mentor, friend, and brother to James, who took a while after the crash before reacting about it on social media. A few days after the incident, James paid his tribute to the ‘Black Mamba.’
“I promise I'll continue your legacy man,” James wrote on his official Instagram account. He then got a tattoo on his leg of a black mamba curled around Bryant's jersey numbers, 8 and 24.
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