Chicago-born artist and actress Jennifer Hudson will perform a special tribute to Kobe and Gianna Bryant—as well as the seven other people who tragically died in a helicopter crash late last month—to open the 2020 NBA All-Star Game, the league announced on Thursday.
The game and performance will take place at Chicago's United Center on Sunday, Feb. 16. For halftime, another Chicago native, Chance the Rapper, will perform alongside Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled, and Quavo. Common and Taylor Bennett will also be in attendance for All-Star Weekend.
Bennett will perform at halftime of the NBA Rising Stars game on Friday, Feb. 14, while Common will share "a moving narrative about what basketball means to the city" before tip-off at the All-Star Game. Chaka Khan, who's also a Chicagoan, is scheduled to sing the national anthem for the Feb. 16 game.
The weekend will also feature Queen Latifah, who's also from the city, and Chicago youth performing a rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Love's in Need of Love Today."
For the game itself, players will honor Kobe and Gianna by wearing their respective jersey numbers. Team LeBron will wear Gianna's No. 2 while Team Giannis will wear Kobe's No. 24. The game will air on TNT at 8 p.m. ET.
The NBA previously announced a new set of rules for the All-Star game that will pay tribute to Kobe.
Related Stories
Chance the Rapper to Headline the 2020 NBA All-Star Game Halftime Show
Common and Chance's brother, Taylor Bennett, will also perform during All-Star Weekend.
Lil Wayne Pays Tribute to Kobe Bryant on New Album With 24-Second Moment of Silence
Lil Wayne's new album 'Funeral' sees the rapper pay tribute to the late Kobe Bryant on the eighth track, "Bing James."
NBA All-Star Game to Honor Kobe and Gianna Bryant With Players Wearing No. 24 and No. 2 Jersey Numbers
As the NBA continues to honor the life of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, it has been announced both teams will wear No. 24 and No. 2 jerseys in tribute.
