The day was defined by the emotional unveiling of Kobe Bryant‘s statue, a depiction of the Lakers legend wearing his iconic No. 8 jersey with his taped right index finger pointing to the sky. Before the ceremony, the Lakers decided not to make a move at the NBA trade deadline because the asking prices were not to their liking.
It was against this backdrop that the Lakers went out and played the defending champion Denver Nuggets on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena — the same Nuggets who swept them in the Western Conference finals last season and had beaten them six consecutive times.