Novak Djokovic Pays Emotional Tribute to Late Kobe Bryant, Defending Australian Open Champion Dons Jacket With NBA Legend’s Initials on It

Novak Djokovic paid his tributes to late NBA legend Kobe Bryant before taking the court for his quarter-final battle with 32nd seeded Milos Raonic at the Rod Laver Arena on January 28, 2020 (Tuesday). Djokovic, who termed Kobe a ‘great mentor and friend’ while mourning the shocking death of the Los Angeles Lakers star on January 26, 2020 (Sunday), wore a zipper that had KB 8 and 24 written on it. Kobe, a five-time NBA Championship winner with the Lakers and an 18-time All-Star, was among nine that died in a tragic helicopter crash along the Calabasas hills in California. His 13-year-old daughter Gianna was also in the Sikorsky S-76 private helicopter that caught fire before spiralling down from the sky. Rafael Nadal, Coco Gauff and Nick Kyrgios Pay Emotional Tributes to LA Lakers Legend Kobe Bryant (Watch Video).

Djokovic, a seven-time winner at the Australian Open and the defending champion, came out for his quarter-final clash wearing a green zipper with KB 8 & 24 written on it. Kobe during his 20-year career with the Lakers in NBA wore the 8 and 24 jersey numbers both of which have now attained iconic status in the basketball championships. Dallas Mavericks, a day after Kobe’s sad passing away, announced its decision to retire the No 24 jersey in his honour. The second-seeded Serb played the warm-ups with Raonic wearing the KB24 zipper as a tribute to him. Kobe Bryant Dies at 41: Messi, Ronaldo, Nadal, Tendulkar, Neymar and Djokovic Pay Tribute To NBA Legend.

Novak Djokovic Honours Late Kobe Bryant

Earlier, the World No 2 had written an emotional long post in a moving tribute to the NBA legend, who passed away in a tragic helicopter crash while flying with his daughter Gianna and seven others to the Mamba academy on Sunday. The news rocked the sporting world and the United States in general with the world moving in a state of grief and mourning the premature death of one of the greatest sporting jewels.

Remembering a Great Mentor & Friend

Djokovic, however, wasn’t the only Tennis player who paid tribute to late NBA legend. Nick Kyrgios had a day earlier wore the Kobe Bryant’s iconic Lakers jersey during his quarter-final warmups with Rafael Nadal while United States’ Cori Coco Gauff had written the words KB24 on her shoes during her fourth-round match against defending women’s singles champion Naomi Osaka. Sportsters from various other fields had also paid their tributes to the late NBA legend in their own way.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 28, 2020 04:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).