KNOXVILLE — Jalen Johnson and the University of Tennessee’s men’s basketball team honored the memory of Kobe Bryant Tuesday night.
Johnson, an artist, painted a portrait of Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers great, who was one of nine people killed in a helicopter crash in Southern California on Sunday.
Vols guard Jalen Johnson drew this illustration of Kobe Bryant, which UT displayed before its game tonight in honoring the victims of Sunday’s accident. pic.twitter.com/zc3KsmDkxI
— Mike Wilson (@ByMikeWilson) January 28, 2020
Johnson and the rest of the Vols also sported purple strings in their basketball shoes in their Southeastern Conference game against Texas A&M at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Several fans in the stands also wore Bryant jerseys, including those that had both numbers that the five-time NBA Champion and 17-time all-star wore with Los Angeles during his illustrious career. Bryant began his career wearing No. 8 before switching to No. 24. His No. 10 USA Basketball jersey was also present in the arena.
Johnson’s painting was displayed on the video board before tipoff and UT also had a moment of silence for Bryant before the game.
