Thousands turn out to mourn Kobe Bryant as Lakers return to the court in LA

FILE PHOTO: Lakers guard Kobe Bryant smiles during an interview at NBA media day for the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team in Los Angeles October 1, 2012. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Kobe Bryant fans flooded the grounds around Staples Center on Friday ahead of his former team's first game since his death in a helicopter crash earlier this week that stunned basketball fans in the city and worldwide.

Fans wearing Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers jerseys laid flowers, wrote messages on temporarily erected white walls and shared stories of the 41 year old, who perished along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people on Sunday.