Los Angeles honors Lakers legend Kobe Bryant's legacy with Mamba Day celebrations
People across the world celebrated the legacy of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant on Sunday, famously known as Mamba Day.
The celebration, which always falls on the 24th of August, coincides with Bryant's birthday on Aug. 23, and also nods towards both of the numbers Bryant wore with the Lakers — 8 and 24. Los Angeles city leaders declared Mamba Day a holiday beginning in 2016.
Fans of the Black Mamba, who played for the Purple and Gold for 20 seasons and led them to five NBA Championships on his way to a Hall of Fame career, ventured across L.A. County to celebrate in a number of ways, including the third annual Mamba League Invitational basketball tournament.
Related: What is Mamba Day?
The contest was held in the center of L.A. Live, just feet from two statues featuring Bryant. One of the massive statues shows Bryant and his daughter Gianna, who were both among the nine people killed in a 2020 helicopter crash. Bryant would have turned 47 on Saturday.
Others gathered at some of the dozens of murals honoring Bryant across Los Angeles, including the most recently unveiled art in Redondo Beach, which shows him donned in Dodgers gear. He was a known fan of the Boys in Blue, who handed out thousands of bobbleheads featuring Kobe in early August.
Bryant was also honored with displays on the Pacific Wheel, the famous ferris wheel at the end of the Santa Monica Pier.
CBS News Los Angeles spoke with some fans, who express how much Bryant meant to them as Angelenos.
"Kobe means everything to me," said Anna Smith. "He represents basketball. The ultimate icon when it comes to playing, the community, giving back to others and a family man — girl dad."
