Trending

Aug. 24 designated ‘Kobe Bryant Day’ in Orange County, California

SANTA ANA, Calif. — The late Kobe Bryant will have Aug. 24 named in his honor in Orange County, California, a tribute to the two jersey numbers he wore during his NBA career.

Bryant died in a helicopter crash Jan. 26 along with his daughter, Gianna, and seven other people. He would have been 42 on Aug. 23.

Orange County supervisors voted Tuesday to designate Aug. 24 as Kobe Bryant Day at the request of board Chairwoman Michelle Steel, The Orange County Register reported. The date comprises the numbers 8 and 24, which Bryant wore during his career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Steel said Bryant, who lived in Newport Beach, was a “treasured member of our community,’' who “inspired so many men and women to pursue their dreams and never give up.”

According to the Register, the resolution also names the others who died in the crash: Orange Coast College basketball coach John Altobelli, his wife, Keri Altobelli, and daughter, Alyssa Altobelli; Harbor Day School basketball coach Christina Mauser; Payton Chester, a basketball teammate of Gianna Bryant, and her mother, Sarah Chester; and pilot Ara Zobayan.

There are no special events planned for the day, Steel said.

Supervisor Don Wagner said Bryant had his ups and downs during his lifetime, KCAL reported.

”Kobe Bryant’s life, like each one of us who ever lived, presents moments to celebrate and to condemn,’' Wagner said. “Kobe, like all of us, faced challenges, challenges of his own making and challenges thrown at him by life, that he overcome. Today, we celebrate the effort in overcoming those challenges.‘'

According to the resolution, the goal of honoring Kobe Bryant is to encourage people to remember and further his legacy “by engaging in community building helping young people in need, encouraging aspiring youth to follow their dreams, and living by Bryant’s words: ‘The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.’”