Jennifer Hudson and Dr Dre pay touching tribute to Kobe Bryant at NBA All-Star Game
Jennifer Hudson, Dr Dre and Magic Johnson led the tributes to late basketball great Kobe Bryant at the 69th NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night.
Los Angeles Lakers icon Bryant - an 18-time All-Star, four-time All-Star Game MVP and 1997 Slam Dunk Contest champion during his illustrious career - died last month along with 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
Before the All-Star game began at United Center in Chicago, Academy Award-winning singer and actress Hudson performed an emotional rendition of popular 1934 song "For All We Know" - previously recorded by the likes of Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole - as a montage of Bryant pictures flashed in the background.
That stirring performance was preceded by a tribute from Lakers legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who spoke touchingly of the losses of Bryant and former NBA commissioner David Stern before leading an eight-second silence in reference to one of two jersey numbers worn by Kobe during his 20 years as a Laker and later retired.
Fans were also wowed by a stunning video tribute from rapper and producer Dr Dre, which featured the best moments of Bryant's memorable career.
There were other notable nods to Bryant during the All-Star Game, with Team Giannis [Antetokounmpo] all wearing no24 - the other number worn by Bryant as a Laker - and Team LeBron [James] donning no2 in tribute to Gianna.
LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard won the All-Star MVP award that was recently renamed in honour of Bryant after a 30-point outing for Team LeBron, who triumphed 157-155 thanks to a last-gasp free throw from current Laker and Chicago native Anthony Davis.
This year's contest featured a revamped format - including a target score in the fourth quarter that was also in tribute to Bryant - that has been widely praised for improving the intensity and level of competition in the annual exhibition spectacle.
