Carmelo Anthony will not play tonight when the Portland Trail Blazers take on the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night at Staples Centre, the Lakers' first game since the death of Kobe Bryant.

The Trail Blazers announced on Thursday that the forward, who did not travel with the team to Los Angeles, will miss the game due to personal reasons. A visibly emotional Anthony told the media following Portland’s game against the Indiana Pacers last Sunday — the day that Bryant passed away — that the relationship between himself and Bryant was “deeper than basketball”.

Anthony also said he spoke to Bryant ahead of his death, and that the Lakers legend had plans to attend the Blazers' game on Friday.

While Portland has played twice since news broke that Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others perished in a helicopter accident in the Los Angeles area, the Lakers have not played any games. The team was scheduled to take on their Staples Center cohabitants, the Los Angeles Clippers, on Tuesday, but the NBA postponed the game to allow the Lakers organization to continue to grieve. 

Coverage of tonight's Trail Blazers-Lakers game begins at 10pm ET/7pm PT on TSN 1/4/5, the TSN App and TSN Direct.