Due to the death of retired Lakers star Kobe Bryant, one of nine victims of a helicopter crash that also claimed the life of his daughter Gianna, the NBA announced Monday that it is postponing Tuesday’s Clippers-Lakers regular season game.
The game, which was scheduled to air on TNT, will be rescheduled for an as-yet-undetermined date. It was to be the third of four meetings between the Lakers and Clippers, title contenders who are widely expected to meet in the Western Conference Finals.
Lakers-Clippers was to be the nightcap of a TNT doubleheader. TNT will not air a replacement game. Instead, it has added a one-hour pregame show live from Los Angeles, with its regular Thursday cast of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Bryant’s longtime teammate Shaquille O’Neal. The studio coverage, which will also include Dwyane Wade, Candace Parker and Steve Nash, will focus primarily on Bryant.
NBA games are postponed with some regularity for inclement weather. A 2013 Pacers-Celtics game was canceled outright due to the Boston Marathon bombing. That game was also scheduled to air on TNT.
The postponement is just one of several reverberations from Bryant’s shocking death Sunday. ESPN on Monday re-aired Bryant’s final NBA game, a 2016 matchup against Utah in which he scored 60 points, at 9 PM ET. NBC’s Mike Tirico, who called that game for ESPN, was a guest on the 11 PM ET SportsCenter that followed.
ESPN’s previously-scheduled Kansas-Oklahoma State college basketball game moved to ESPN2, in turn bumping Australian Open coverage to ESPNEWS. Australian Open coverage was also moved to ESPNEWS Sunday night, when ESPN’s breaking news coverage of Bryant’s death bumped the X Games to ESPN2.
ESPN on Sunday night simulcast an ABC News special devoted to Bryant. With the exception of NFL Live, all of its daytime shows Monday were devoted solely to Bryant. NBA TV preempted its scheduled daytime programming with a marathon of Bryant’s greatest games.
Outside of sports television, Bryant was honored several late night talk shows Monday night, including an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! that was devoted exclusively to him.
[News from NBA, Awful Announcing 1.28]
