Empire State Building has lit up in the Lakers’ signature purple and gold colors in order to pay a tribute to the 41-year-old NBA legend Kobe Bryant who died prematurely alongside his daughter, Gianna, in a chopper crash on January 26.
“Our lights will shine in purple and gold this evening as we pay tribute to basketball legend Kobe Bryant, an inspiration to millions across the globe who was taken too soon. Our hearts go out to all of the families, friends, and fans affected by this tragedy,” the skyscraper’s Twitter page posted on January 27.
As seen in the touching images, the skyscraper’s peak lit up in purple and gold to pay the respects to one of the best basketball players of all time.
Following the unexpected passing of the sportsman, two and a half million people have signed the petition to immortalize Kobe Bryant by making the NBA legend the new NBA logo.
“With the untimely and unexpected passing of the great Kobe Bryant please sign this petition in an attempt to immortalize him forever as the new NBA Logo,” the petition that keeps on getting new signatures reads.
According to the petition’s creator, Nick M., he wants “to see Kobe Bryant engraved into the NBA Logo,” whereas his silhouette would replace that of Lakers’ Jerry West.
NBA has been using the same logo, except for minor changes to the text, ever since 1971.
After the petition went viral, millions of people appeared to support it whereas plenty of them came up with their own ideas for the new logo. However, it is not clear whether the NBA would consider changing its logo as of this writing.
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Replaced!