💜💛 NBA All-Star Is All For Kobe

From start to finish, the NBA All-Star Game will be a celebration of Kobe Bryant — and undoubtedly an emotional one. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: NBA All-Star Weekend will be all about Kobe Bryant ... uncovering the mystery of the time Michael Jordan wore No. 12 ... and the Great American Race leads a packed sports weekend. Have you ever cried during the NBA’s All-Star Weekend before? Me either, but all bets are off this time around. Coming just three weeks after Kobe Bryant, one of the league’s greats, was killed in a helicopter accident along with his daughter, Gianna, and seven others, this year’s event is going to look and feel very different. Tributes to Bryant will be everywhere. Jennifer Hudson will sing in his honor before the opening tip. The jerseys of each team have been adjusted. Team LeBron (James) will wear the No. 2 (for Gianna), with Team Giannis (Antetokounmpo) sporting Bryant’s iconic No. 24, plus a circle of nine stars representing the victims of the crash, and a black band for recently departed former commissioner David Stern, on each jersey. [STORY IMAGE 1] Television network TNT will air the fourth quarter free of commercials to celebrate Bryant. Even the game itself has been adjusted to use [the Elam Ending]( whereby a total of 24 (Bryant’s number) points above the leading team’s total after three quarters will form a target score for both squads to chase down. It is likely that there will be more Bryant jerseys on display at the United Center than those of any other player. Individual players will undoubtedly have personal tributes of their own in mind, too. It is going to get heavy in there. It may not be like any other All-Star Game you’ve ever seen. [STORY IMAGE 2] “It happens every year, but this year is different,” entertainer Chance The Rapper says in a commercial for the event. “The game will have more meaning than it's ever had before. “The league, the fans, the players will all pay tribute to the legendary Kobe Bryant. For an entire generation, he defined the title 'NBA All-Star.' It's the ultimate celebration.” Remember that bit where I said All-Star Games don’t get emotional? I should have added the word “normally.” Back in 2016 it did, and again it was because of Bryant. In his final All-Star appearance, in what was known to be his final season, he was toasted in a video montage from players for both teams. “I am just proud to be your friend, to be your brother,” said former teammate Pau Gasol. “Kobe Bean,” said James. “Salute, my brother.” [STORY IMAGE 3] Bryant beamed from start to finish, chipped in with 10 points, and saw the Western Conference win 196-173. After the game, he hugged Gianna, who jumped into his arms and looked up adoringly at her father. It was that image Bryant’s wife Vanessa chose as her Instagram profile in the haunting days after the accident. It is, along with all the dunks and wins and game-winners, how many like to remember him. It can be argued that All-Star Games in many sports are kind of past their use by date. The way modern leagues are structured are intended to provide enough entertainment to satisfy the needs of their fan base. Given that those games are part of the actual competition, exhibition-type affairs, even those that collect the league’s best players on the same court, lose some gravitas. Except this time. There will be some fun in Chicago, but when game time comes, we can expect an intense chase for victory on a scale far beyond that of recent years. That’s how Bryant would have wanted it, and the finest players in the sport know all about how a commitment to winning was part of the message he left behind. [STORY IMAGE 4] Expect a bit more defense — and a lot more energy — on Sunday night. Expect, too, the same kind of noise from the stands that was heard in 2016, when the crowd in Toronto thought it was just goodbye from basketball. The chants of “Ko-be, Ko-be,” struck up loud and strong back then, to laud a career spanning nearly two decades. Do you think the fans will do the same thing this time, to pay tribute to a basketballing life? Do you think you’ll be able to hold back a tear when they do? [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... James Worthy (via USA Today): “There will be some memorable Kobe moments, but it will be sad. Things like this hit you much, much later. We’re at our strongest right now. But trying to deal with it, that will be months and years later. This continues to haunt you.” Haley O’Shaughnessy, The Ringer: “Hopefully, [the new format] will encourage more competition late in the game, as will the fact that the game is a tribute to Kobe. More broadly, All-Star Weekend will be touching because it’s the first time that the league has gathered since Kobe’s and David Stern’s deaths. Expect it to be filled with many remembrances.” Jason Reynolds, The Undefeated: “Perhaps it was because he knew more than anyone that he was Kobe Bryant: a giant, an icon, a hero to so many. But I can’t help but think it was something else. Something less performative. That just like my mother talks to me like a mother talks to a son — like family talks to family — to keep me grounded, I wonder if Kobe simply understood that as much as he was the Black Mamba on the court, basketball — like life — doesn’t work properly unless it touches the ground, over and over again.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - It’s technically not in other “words,” but you’ll absolutely want to watch [this video from NBA on TNT]( showing Kobe Bryant through the years at All-Star weekend. - Thirty years ago today, Michael Jordan stepped on the court wearing No. 12. [Yahoo Sports’ Ben Rohrbach tells]( the story behind the mystery of that nameless jersey. - [The Undefeated’s Marc Spears sits down]( with Dominique Wilkins to reflect on “the greatest dunk contest of all time.” [THE BRADY HUNCH] [THE BRADY HUNCH] One of the biggest determining factors in where Tom Brady plays next year is what kind of QB he can be in 2020. Can he still win you games? Does he need support from more big-name skill players than he’s typically had as teammates in New England? And if so, does that mean he’s likely done with the Patriots? [NFL Media’s Mike Giardi (via NESN)]( reports scouts all have a similar take on Brady headed into next season: “And they’ve said, ‘Look, he’s still a good quarterback, capable of great moments.’ But the one thing that they all said to me, and I think this kind of sticks out — and maybe how they feel here in Foxboro — was ‘sustainability.’” [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( The PGA Tour is (fittingly) in Los Angeles this weekend, and hole No. 8 at Riviera Country Club features tributes to Kobe Bryant both on the fairway and at the green, where the flag is decked out in Lakers colors. On Thursday, Tiger Woods honored his late friend with a Kobe-esque “shot” of his ball after finishing the hole. We don’t have audio on the clip, but here’s hoping he said, “Kobe!” as he did it. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] WWE Friday Night SmackDown (FOX, 8 p.m. ET) Bayley and Carmella will go one-on-one for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Just as importantly, tonight is the night of Otis and Mandy Rose’s highly anticipated Valentine’s date! NBA All-Star Saturday Night (TNT, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET) Sunday will feature all of the official Kobe tributes, but expect the Black Mamba’s presence to be felt throughout the 3-Point Contest, Skills Challenge and Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night, as well. Daytona 500 (FOX, Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET) The 62nd annual running of the Great American Race will start with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Alex Bowman on the front row, before the pushing, shoving and wrecking begins. NBA All-Star Game (TNT, Sunday, 8 p.m. ET) Team LeBron takes on Team Giannis in a whole new format dedicated to the memory of Kobe Bryant. Get your tissues ready for a night full of tributes to the late Lakers superstar, his daughter, Gianna, and the victims of January’s crash. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Who will hit the game winner in the All-Star Game? LeBron James: +450 James Harden: +500 Kawhi Leonard: +550 Luka Doncic: +700 Devin Booker: +725 The NBA’s adoption of the Elam Ending in honor of Kobe guarantees one thing: we will have a game-winning shot on Sunday. And with Team LeBron 5.5-point favorites to win the All-Star Game, it probably comes as no surprise that the five favorites to hit that game winner are all on the King’s squad. But you might want to take a look at Russell Westbrook at +1200 if you’re looking for an underdog, as he has the second longest odds of anyone on the board. A new FOX Sports app and website is coming. [Click here]( to be notified when the reimagined app is available. [WHAT THEY SAID] “The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.” — Kobe Bryant [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download the FOX Sports app for live scores and streaming [App Store]( [Google Play]( Available on: [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] [tvOS] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] Forwarded this message? [Sign up](. Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2020 FOX Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. FOX.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, CA 90213-0900