Gamers are paying tribute to Kobe Bryant in 'NBA 2K20' with custom jerseys, parades, and deliberate 24-second shot clock violations

People playing "NBA 2K20" online have been offering their own impromptu tributes to Bryant in the hours following his death in a helicopter crash on January 26.
Gamers are parading around "NBA 2K20's" public neighborhood area wearing Bryant's jersey and other Los Angeles Lakers gear.
Other players online are intentionally suffering 24-second shot clock violations, an homage that several NBA teams performed in games on Sunday night.
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The sudden death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant has shocked people around the world, including a generation of sports fans who grew up playing as the Los Angeles Lakers star in NBA video games.

"NBA 2K20," the most popular basketball game on the planet, paid tribute to Bryant with a banner acknowledging his death in the game. But "NBA 2K20" players are taking things a bit further, offering their own personal tributes to the five-time NBA champion.

In online "NBA 2K20" games, players have been intentionally suffering 24-second shot clock violations and 8-second half-court violations to honor the two numbers Bryant wore during his career. NBA players across the league practiced the same tribute in the games immediately after news broke of Bryant's death, and the homage has carried over to NBA fans playing online.

The Neighborhood is "NBA 2K's" public area where players can play pick-up basketball games with their online avatar, and in the hours following Bryant's death, it was full of players wearing his jersey and other Lakers gear. Some players even took the time to build their own custom Kobe t-shirts to wear online.

Dozens of gamers who broadcast "NBA 2K" on Twitch on a daily basis have also dedicated their streams to Bryant's career. Some have chosen to look back on Bryant's NBA highlights, while others have chosen their own ways to honor his career. One streamer, Tyceno, promised his viewers he would win 81 games of "NBA 2K20" in a row, a tribute to Bryant's career high 81-point game, which came against the Toronto Raptors in January 2006.

NBA video games have thoroughly captured Bryant's superstar career over two decades, and he graced the cover of countless games and even had a series named after him "Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside." When Bryant retired in 2017, "NBA 2K" celebrated his legacy with a special edition of the game and promotional material that reflected on how much gamers loved playing as the 18-time NBA All-Star. Years later, the kind words for Bryant's influential basketball career still ring true.

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