Bay Area rapper G-Eazy represents the state of California well, putting on for Oakland and its surrounding cities. While you would expect him to be more of a Golden State Warriors fan based on his location in Cali, he has proven to be quite the die-hard Los Angeles Lakers supporter, much like the majority of Californians. When Kobe Bryant shockingly passed away earlier this year, the basketball community gathered together to mourn the loss of one of the all-time greats. Some people even opted to immortalize the legend by getting tribute tattoos in his honour. G-Eazy decided to do the same, debuting his fresh ink on Instagram.

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This week, G-Eazy went to the tattoo parlour to get some new work done on his arm, adding the jersey numbers belonging to Kobe Bryant during his career. Starting off as No. 8, the prolific hooper switched numbers to become No. 24 later in his career, making enough of an impact in the league for both to be retired by his team. The star and his Mamba Mentality mindset had a big effect on Gerald’s moves establishing himself as a rapper, so he chose to get something done to always remember Kobe by.

The new markings on his arm are small, but they clearly mean a lot to G. Take a look at the post below.

NBA All-Star weekend is usually a lighthearted occasion. NBA players and celebrities come together to ditch the competitive energy and celebrate their love for the game. This year, however, the spectre of Kobe Bryant’s recent passing will be looming over the weekend’s events. People will surely be turning this loss that’s weighing heavy on their spirits into moving tributes. 

Quavo did exactly that while playing in the 2020 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday night (Feb. 15) in Chicago. The Migos member stepped onto the court in custom Kobe 11’s with graphics that memorialized the basketball legend and his daughter, Gianna, who also perished in a helicopter crash three weeks ago. An image of Gianna decorated one sneaker, while an image of her father decorated the other – both depicted wearing basketball jerseys. Their respective jersey numbers were also printed onto each shoe, Gianna’s being #4 and Kobe’s being #8 and #24. The game also started with a moment of silence for Kobe and former longtime NBA Commissioner David Stern – who died at 77 on January 1 – which was quickly broken by resounding chants of Kobe’s name. 

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While Common was named the game’s MVP, Quavo shared a highlight on Instagram of him aggressively stuffing Common. “Good Game MVP!!!,” Quavo wrote, smugly humbling his opponent.