Kobe Bryant memorial planned for 24 February at Staples Center, say reports

File image of NBA star Kobe Bryant during his Los Angeles Lakers days. AP Photo[/caption]There was no immediate comment from the Lakers or Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office in response to inquiries from Reuters about the report.Planning for the event is under way, according to the Times, but there were no details of what the memorial might entail.The Times cited one source as saying the event would not include a procession, and would be over in time to allow a previously scheduled NBA game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies to go forward as planned.The memorial will fall between two Lakers home games, one against the Boston Celtics and another against the New Orleans Pelicans, the newspaper said.Otherwise, the Times said, no information was immediately available about the precise timing of the event or tickets, but it said seating is expected to be limited.The arena’s seating capacity is normally about 20,000.The memorial service follows a series of Bryant tributes since he perished with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other people aboard a helicopter that slammed into a hillside in foggy weather near Los Angeles on 26 January.Bryant, who was 41, retired from the National Basketball Association in 2016. The 18-time all star was on his way to a youth sports academy for a girls basketball tournament his daughter was scheduled to play in at the time.The death of the five-time NBA champion, one of the world’s most admired sports figures, unleashed an outpouring of grief and tributes from fans, fellow athletes and politicians around the globe.Tens of thousands of fans flooded the grounds around the Staples Center last week ahead of the Lakers’ first game since Bryant’s death. Many others have made pilgrimages to the suburb of Calabasas, about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Los Angeles, to view the crash site from a distance.