Opting to "go straight from the heart" instead of reading a prewritten speech, LeBron spoke about the tight-knit bond among Laker fans and Kobe's influence on the game. "I know at some point we will have a memorial for Kobe but I look at this as a celebration tonight," he said. "This is a celebration of the 20 years of the blood, sweat, tears, the broken down body, the getting up, the sitting down, the countless hours, the determination to be as great as he could be. Tonight we celebrate the kid who came here at 18 years of age, retired at 38 and become the best dad that we've seen over the last three years."
He went on to encourage fellow NBA athletes to keep playing for Kobe before concluding, "In the words of Kobe Bryant, Mamba out. But in the words of us, not forgotten. Live on, brother."