The NBA has canceled the Los Angeles Lakers’ game on Tuesday night.
Set to be a game between the Lakers and Clippers at Staples Center, an announcement was just made by the NBA that the game will get played at a later date.
The entire league, but especially the Lakers, has been hit hard by the death of Kobe Bryant. LeBron James and his Lakers teammates heard the news while they were flying home on Sunday, leaving many of them in tears.
The outpouring of support for the nine people lost in the helicopter crash and their families has continued into Monday. That includes quite a few sports legends sharing Kobe Bryant tributes on social media.
There had been worries that the Lakers and Clippers wouldn’t be ready to play again on Tuesday at “the house that Kobe built,” and now the league is trying to make sure that they won’t have to.
This is great news for the Lakers, especially with how broken up the players have been since learning what had happened to one of the best players in team history.
In aftermath of Kobe Bryant passing away, Lakers/Clippers game Tuesday has been postponed.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 27, 2020
Lakers players, coaches and officials and entire organization have been deeply grieving loss of Kobe Bryant. “These guys are not ready to play basketball right now,” one source close to Lakers and Clippers players said today. https://t.co/bsDgCGoxeU
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 27, 2020
Had the Lakers vs. Clippers game remained on the NBA schedule, this would have been the first time that the team took the court since hearing the news about Bryant. The team just isn’t ready.
NBA makes the right decision
The NBA made the right call by canceling/postponing this game at Staples Center. The team isn’t ready to take the court again, and it was smart to put people before the bottom line.
It’s just a game. And as such, this game can be played at a later date. When it finally does roll around again on the NBA schedule, the players can choose to honor Kobe Bryant in any fashion that they feel is right.
The NBA has postponed the Lakers-Clippers game scheduled for Tuesday.
"The decision was made out of respect for the Lakers organization, which is deeply grieving the tragic loss of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people in a helicopter crash." pic.twitter.com/JThfmvsUHO
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 27, 2020
Upcoming L.A. Lakers schedule
For the Lakers, the next game on their schedule comes on Friday, January 31, against the Portland Trail Blazers. There has been no indication that this game will also get postponed, so fans can likely expect the Lakers to be back on the court by that time.
This Friday night game will also take place at Staples Center, so it will give the team and its fans ample opportunity to pay homage to one of the NBA’s all-time greats. It also provides the Lakers’ organization and the NBA a lot of time to get it right.
No specific date on when the canceled Lakers game will take place has been revealed, but that’s not an important piece of information at this time.