Lakers to Honor Kobe Bryant with Nos. 8, 24 T-Shirts for Fans vs. Blazers

The Los Angeles Lakers will honor Kobe Bryant by giving fans at Staples Center shirts with his No. 8 and No. 24 for Friday night's game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Sandy Hooper of USA Today reported the arena will be split in half with each side getting T-shirts with one of the Lakers legend's jersey numbers on them in the team's first game since his death Sunday in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.

The Lakers were scheduled to play against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night, but that game was postponed in the wake of Bryant's death along with his daughter, Gianna, and seven others, including two of her teammates and their parents.

L.A. head coach Frank Vogel said Thursday the team is trying its best to focus on basketball while also grieving the five-time NBA champion.

"We're concentrating on the work," he told reporters. "There's therapy in the work. Our whole belief since I got here is that we're just going to put our heads down, roll our sleeves up and grind, and do the job."

That said, Friday's game will be remembered far more for the remembrance of one of the best players in NBA history than whatever the final scoreline reads.

Tipoff at Staples Center is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET with a national broadcast on ESPN.