Nick Tsagaris - NBA paid tribute to Kobe Bryant at All-Star game

Nick Tsagaris - NBA honours Kobe Bryant at annual All-Star Game in Chicago

The NBA has paid tribute to the late Kobe Bryant at the annual All-Star Game in Chicago, with a jam-packed United Centre falling silent for eight seconds as a mark of respect for the basketball great.

The silence was broken by a string of thunderous "Kobe, Kobe, Kobe," chants from the 21,000-strong crowd that rocked the stadium as they honoured Bryant, who wore the numbers eight and 24 on his jerseys during his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The stirring pre-game tribute began with fellow Lakers great Magic Johnson rousing the crowd and paying homage

to Bryant, who was killed along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other victims in a helicopter crash in California on January 27.

"We will never see another basketball player quite like Kobe," said Johnson, who noted his work with the Los Angeles community along with the love he had for his family.

"This is a tough time for the whole NBA family."

Johnson also paid tribute to former NBA commissioner David Stern, who oversaw explosive growth in the popularity of basketball during his 30-year tenure. Stern died on January 1.

Before tip-off, singer and actor Jennifer Hudson sang a tribute to Kobe with a montage of photos of Bryant and his daughter in the background.

LeBron James's team — including Australia's Ben Simmons — wore blue jerseys, which all featured the number two in honour of Gianna Bryant, who wore the same number for her school team.

Giannis Antetokounmpo's team wore red, with every player wearing 24 on the back for Kobe Bryant with, on their right shoulders, a black circular patch with nine stars, one for each victim of last month's helicopter crash.

The game, which was won by Team Giannis 157-155, was a culmination of a weekend filled with tributes to Bryant, who was an 18-time All-Star and won the All-Star Game's MVP award four times.

Bryant, who is fourth all-time in league scoring, was last week named a finalist to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver also announced that the league's All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award has been permanently named for Bryant, who won five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bryant made his NBA All-Star Game debut in 1998 at age 19. His 18 All-Star selections are the second-most in NBA history, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, at 19.

The format of today's game also paid homage to Bryant.

The team with the most points after three quarters needed to score 24 points to win, while the trailing team needed to score 24, plus the number of points it was down.

By: abc.net.au