VIDEO: Dwyane Wade and Candace Parker Honor Kobe Bryant and Gianna With 24.2-Second Ovation at All-Star Weekend
By Jack Murphy
Over the past month, many organized events have dedicated moments of silence to honor the losses of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and all those lost in the horrific helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020. Dwayne Wade and WNBA superstar Candace Parker innovated on the form once again before NBA's All-Star Saturday Night, leading a 24.2-second-long standing ovation to honor the Laker legend as well as his daughter, replicating both of their numbers.
Candace Parker and Dwyane Wade got the crowd to cheer for 24.2 seconds to honor Kobe and Gianna Bryant prior to Saturday night's All-Star festivities pic.twitter.com/FH9FesWQBF
— Lakers Outsiders (@LakersOutsiders) February 16, 2020
We have seen numerous moments of silence to honor the Black Mamba, and it was a nice change of scenery to see the crowd applaud the legacy Kobe has left behind prior to Saturday's event.
Dwyane Wade spent many years as Kobe Bryant's opponent, and he has done everything he can to pay tribute to the late legend in the wake of his untimely passing.
“I miss you and I love you. Thank you for inspiring me to be great.” @DwyaneWade pays his respects to Kobe Bryant at a memorial in Chicago. pic.twitter.com/a9FYAWiiFY
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 14, 2020
While moments of silence are a great way to pay respect to ones that are lost, these actions encouraged by Wade and Parker are unorthodox, yet perhaps even a more fitting celebration. They wanted the crowd in Chicago to appropriately applaud all the accomplishments throughout Kobe's entire career and life, and we loved it.