The Game paid tribute to the late Kobe Bryant with a tattoo on a prominent part of his body.
Los Angeles native The Game honored Lakers legend Kobe Bryant earlier this week by getting a face tattoo to show his admiration for the NBA star who recently lost his life in a tragic helicopter crash. The Compton rapper posted pictures of himself on his Instagram sitting in the tattoo chair while wearing a purple hoodie and Lakers jersey.
The finished tattoo featured a sideways number “8” above The Game’s eyebrow, invoking both Kobe’s original number and the symbol for infinity. He captioned the post, “F O R E V E R” alongside an infinity emoji.
The Game’s tattoo follows a similar tribute by 2 Chainz who opted to get Kobe’s number “24” tattooed across his legs earlier this week. Kobe Bryant began his career with the Lakers wearing the No. 8, during which time he helped the team win three NBA Finals victories in a row. However, starting in 2006, Bryant switched his number to 24 as a throwback to the jersey he wore in high school. He went on to lead the team to two more consecutive Finals victories and earn Finals MVP awards both times. The Los Angeles Lakers retired both of his jerseys in 2017.
Bryant’s sudden and tragic death has touched the hearts of people all over the world, but may be especially heartbreaking to Los Angeles natives who have looked up to Bryant as a local icon for two decades. Kobe was also close with several members of the hip-hop community, even dabbling in rap himself at one point. A memorial service honoring the lives of Kobe and his daughter Gianna, who also lost her life in the crash that killed a total of nine people, is set to take place on February 24 at Staples Center.
