Wednesday night was a surreal night not only for Los Angeles Lakers fans, but sports fans across the world as everyone witnessed Kobe Bryant score 60 points in his final game. Los Angeles fans were then treated to a surprise in the morning as news broke that the Los Angeles Rams traded for the top overall pick in the NFL Draft.
While the announcement came Thursday morning, it was actually revealed that the Rams and Tennessee Titans came to an agreement last night.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the teams agreed to delay the announcement of the deal in order to not take away from Kobe Bryant’s big night:
Rams official on withholding trade until today: "Kobe deserved his night. There was no reason for this trade to be announced on his night.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 14, 2016
It truly shows just how important Kobe is to the Los Angeles area that a team would delay a trade announcement in honor of him. Not just any trade either, but one for the top overall pick in the draft which is major news.
The Rams have certainly made waves over the past couple seasons both on and off the field, by building a talented core of players through the draft and bringing them to the L.A.
While it is hard to imagine the announcement would have stolen any thunder away from the epic finale of Kobe’s illustrious career, it does show the tremendous mutual respect between neighboring teams in Los Angeles. It also seemingly sparks the transition to the new era of sports in Los Angeles.
