As the basketball world and beyond mourns the loss of Kobe Bryant, tributes continue to pour in from the millions the Los Angeles Lakers legend has inspired throughout his life and career.
In the NBA, teams have been running out the 24-second shot clock and taking eight-second backcourt violations at the start of games in reference to the two numbers Bryant wore throughout his 20-year professional run. Players wore No. 8 and No. 24 jerseys during warmups (one even changed his number to 24 for a night, he ended up scoring 24 points), wrote loving messages on their shoes, and have begun taking steps to informally retire both of his numbers.
Fans, meanwhile, have found numerous ways to pay their respects, through makeshift shrines, artwork, stories, and even video games.
After news broke on Sunday that Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others had died in a helicopter crash, NBA 2K20’s development team and its players found their own ways of honoring the once-in-a-lifetime athlete. Now another video game tribute has appeared, and in a place most probably wouldn’t expect.
Reddit user u/dustrho has built a basketball-themed shrine in Bryant’s memory within Fallout 76, which players can go visit on the PC version of its West Virginia map.
In the post made on Fallout 76’s subreddit, u/dustrho wrote:
“I wanted to have a way in-game for people to pay their respects for the tragic loss of Kobe Bryant, so I made a little shrine. People have stopped by, shot their weapons in the air, left gifts as tribute, and sat on those benches just talking about him, his life, and what happened on 1/26. If you want to see it for yourself I’m on PC as dustrho (just west of the Whitespring). #ripkobebryant #ripmamba”
To put it lightly, Fallout 76 has struggled to make headlines for anything positive since its November 2018 launch. Still, Bethesda Game Studios’ online experiment for the series has managed to maintain a respectable community regardless of the game’s issues. And it is nice to see its players come together, share stories, and mourn with one another through a heartfelt gesture.
Even for those with the faintest interest in sports, the past couple of days have been heartbreaking. Bryant, who died at age 41, was a larger-than-life figure with an influence that was far greater than just being a basketball player. Things won’t get easier for some time, either.
A wife lost her husband and daughter, girls lost their sister and father, many lost a friend, millions lost their hero.
The post Fallout 76 Player Builds In-Game Shrine in Memory of Kobe Bryant by Nick Tricome appeared first on DualShockers.