Kobe Bryant Day (also called Mamba Day) is a day that is celebrated on August 24 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

commemorating the life of basketball player

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...

. The date was chosen as the holiday because of Bryant's numbers on his jerseys (8 and 24), as well as it being the day after his birthday, August 23. On July 27, 2021,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Congresswoman

Michelle Steel Michelle Eunjoo Steel ( Park, born June 21, 1955) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 45th congressional district since 2023, previously representing the 48th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. A ...

introduced a resolution that would recognize the day nationally.

History

In 2016, following Bryant's retirement from basketball, the City of

declared August 24 as Kobe Bryant Day, recognizing his philanthropy with the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation, which "dedicated to improving the lives of youth and families in need and encouraging young people to stay active through sports". He was further acknowledged for United Way of Greater Los Angeles’s annual HomeWalk, while also working with Make-A-Wish, NBA Cares, The Boys and Girls Clubs of America and After-School All-Stars. On January 26, 2020, Kobe and his daughter Gianna, along with other seven passengers, died in a helicopter crash in

Calabasas, California Calabasas (from Spanish language, Spanish ''calabazas'' "gourds") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, between the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Monica and Santa Susana Mountains, Santa Susanna mounta ...

. After seven months, on August 12, 2020, the

Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to declare August 24 as Kobe Bryant Day. It was proposed by Board of Supervisors Chairwoman

. On August 23, the day before,

Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...

launched "Mamba Week", which included product launches and programming honoring Bryant. Some of the products included sneakers and black jerseys with the two numbers. Nike also donated $1 million to the Mamba and Mambacita Foundation. The event was criticized for being limited and for being sold out in minutes. The next day, Los Angeles City Council President

Herb Wesson Herman J. "Herb" Wesson Jr. (born November 11, 1951) is an American politician who served as a City council, councilmember representing the Los Angeles City Council District 10, 10th District for three terms between July 1, 2005 and December 14, ...

announced on his

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that a portion of

Figueroa Street Figueroa Street is a major north-south street in Los Angeles County, California, spanning from the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington north to Eagle Rock. A short, unconnected continuation of Figueroa Street runs just south of Marengo Driv ...

from

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

to MLK Blvd would become " Kobe Bryant Boulevard". Also that day, during Game 4 of the first round of the 2020 NBA playoffs,

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

players wore the "Black Mamba" jersey with "8" and "24" in honor of Bryant, with

Damian Lillard Damian Lamonte Ollie Lillard Sr. (born July 15, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Weber State Wildcats and earned ...

wearing customized shoes with the numbers on the back. The Lakers notably led by a score of 24–8 during the first quarter and won over the Trail Blazers, leading by 38 points in the third quarter. In response to the win,

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

said that " ryants here in the building" and that "the stars aligned".

References

{{Reflist Kobe Bryant August observances Culture of Los Angeles