DETROIT — Monday night, the Detroit Pistons faced the Cleveland Cavaliers, in their first game since the tragic death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant.
At Little Caesars Arena, the team tweeted a photo showing purple and gold lights outside the arena to honor Kobe.
"Those colors will shine bright again tonight," the Pistons said.
That was just one of the team's tributes for Kobe who played for the Los Angeles Lakers for his entire 20-year career. Their colors are purple and gold. Kobe wore the number 24 for several years with the Lakers; he also wore the number 8.
As Pistons players Bruce Brown and Sekou Doumbouya entered the arena, they were photographed wearing No. 24 Lakers jerseys and purple and gold shoes. Langston Galloway was also wearing gold shoes.
The entire team also wore Bryant jerseys during warm ups. Before the game started, there was a replay of Kobe's introduction at his final game in Detroit on Dec. 6, 2015 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. This was followed by 24 seconds of silence led by George Blaha, the voice of the Pistons.
Lights displayed the numbers 8 and 24 on the floor amid a dim purple light.
Sunday, Kobe and eight others—including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna—died in a helicopter crash in Southern California. The news broke just an hour before the San Antonio Spurs tipped off against the Toronto Raptors.
In that game, each team took their turn honoring Bryant by dribbling out the 24-second shot clock. The Spurs, who won the tip, took a shot clock violation, turning the ball over to the Raptors. Toronto, in turn, did the same, letting 24 seconds tick off the clock without advancing the ball.
The Pistons and the Cavs did the same at the start of their game. Following the tip off, Cleveland dribbled the 24-second shot clock down as the crowd cheered and chanted "Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!"
Detroit followed with an 8-second violation. Both teams agreed to the violations before the game.
Monday, the NBA announced that the Lakers-L.A. Clippers game that was scheduled for Jan. 28 has been postponed.
"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 on Sunday," the league said.
Arn Tellem, the vice chairman for the Pistons, released a statement on Kobe's unexpected death.
“Kobe Bryant was far and away the greatest athlete I had the privilege of representing during my 35 years as a player agent. And I represented many great athletes," Tellem said.
From 1981 to 2005, Tellem was a sports agent who represented many professional basketball and baseball players over the decades. He said he's known Kobe since the basketball legend was a 17-year-old high school student in Philadelphia. Tellem describes him as have a "fearsome intellectual curiosity" and "his enthusiasm was contagious."
"The glint in his eyes wasn't just joy: It was sparks from a fire that couldn't be tamped down. To him, anything less than the best was failure."
Kobe, 41, was a father to four daughters and he and his wife, Vanessa, were married for nearly 19 years.
The Pistons and the Cavs tip off at 7 p.m.
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