Getty Davante Adams #17 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates catching a touchdown in the second half of the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl at Camping World Stadium on January 26, 2020 in Orlando, Florida.
Davante Adams didn’t pass up his chance to pay homage to one of his childhood idols during Sunday’s NFL Pro Bowl game.
Hours after news broke that Kobe Bryant and eight others had been tragically killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday morning, Adams caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins and channeled his emotions as a California native into a celebration that honored the late Los Angeles Lakers legend, flashing “2-4” with his fingers into the nearest end-zone camera. He then raced toward the goal post and finished with a 360 dunk on the upright after celebrating with his NFC teammates.
Here’s #Packers WR Davante Adams flashing two fingers, then four to honor Kobe Bryant after catching a touchdown in the Pro Bowl t.co/XEV3N2faUH
“I already was going into it always being able to dunk it a little bit,” the Green Bay Packers star wide receiver told sideline reporter Lisa Salters on Sunday. “I’m a big basketball guy, so Kobe always meant something special to me, being from California especially, so I had to get my shoutout to 2-4 and go get the 360 on the goal post for him as well.”
Adams caught a team-high six passes for the NFC and racked up 61 receiving yards and two touchdowns during his third consecutive Pro Bowl appearance. He also completed one pass for 34 yards on a trick play as the AFC prevailed 38-33 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
Growing up in East Palo Alto, California, Adams played football and basketball and received recruiting attention in both sports before committing to his football future at Fresno State; though, he has credited some of his athleticism as a wideout to his basketball background.
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Adams Not the Only Packer to Honor Kobe
Za’Darius Smith also took his opportunity to pay tribute to Bryant during Sunday’s Pro Bowl. After each of his sacks, the Packers outside linebacker called his NFC teammates together to perform Bryant’s signature shot fake and fadeaway jumper.
“It was a tribute to Kobe, man, him and his family,” Smith told Salters after his first sack. “We came in on third down and we were like, ‘Man, this is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna do two steps and then we’re gonna do the fadeaway for him.’ For everybody to participate as a team, man, I just hope that touched a lot of people in a special way.”
#Packers Za’Darius Smith gets a sack in today’s Pro Bowl and rounds up some NFC teammates for a celebration to honor Kobe Bryant
Smith also described how the NFC players learned the news — first reported by TMZ — about Bryant’s death while listening to music and hyping up for the game in the locker room. He said Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson called everyone together as a team and said a prayer for Bryant and his family — who also lost a daughter in the tragedy.
Gianna Bryant, a 13-year-old rising basketball star, was also killed in the crash as they were traveling to play basketball at Mamba Academy near Thousand Oaks, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. She was the second oldest of Bryant’s four daughters, the youngest of which was born in June 2019.
Two of the other seven victims have not yet been identified, but three were identified as one of Gianna’s teammates, Alyssa Altobelli, and her parents, John and Keri Altobelli. One of the girls’ coaches, Christina Mauser, also died in the crash along with the pilot, Ara Zobayan.
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