LeBron James Honors Kobe Bryant With New Tattoo

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will return to the basketball court for the first time since Kobe Bryant’s death on Friday, as they host the Portland Trail Blazers in what will be an incredibly emotional scene at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Ahead of the highly anticipated game, TMZ reports that LeBron and teammate Anthony Davis both set out to get some new tattoos in honor of Kobe.

As seen in the photo captured in front of the Lakers facility in El Segundo on Thursday, LeBron received some ink on his left quad, and it appears to be an image of a black mamba along with some words underneath it. It’s tough to tell with the protective wrap still covering it, but it appears as though the text reads either ‘Kobe 4 Life’ or ‘Mamba 4 Life.’

We’re sure LeBron will share a closer look with his 58.1 million followers on instagram once everything has healed.

Friday night’s game between the Blazers and Lakers is scheduled to tipoff at 10:30pm ET and you can catch the action on ESPN. Needless to say, it’ll be appointment television for every basketball fan.

The Lakers, who have not played since last Saturday, enter the game with a 36-10 record, best in the Western Conference. The Blazers, meanwhile, are coming off a victory over the Houston Rockets and are currently sitting at 21-27 for the year.