Jun 17, 2009 2:30 pm US/Central
Lakers, Fans Celebrate NBA Championship Victory
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Kobe Bryant No.24 holds daughter Gianna and waves to the crowd from the top of a double decker bus at the start of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA championship victory parade outside the Staples Center on June 17, 2009, in Los Angeles.
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
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Kobe Bryant No.24 holds the Larry O'Brien trophy and waves to the crowd from the top of a double decker bus at the start of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA championship victory parade outside the Staples Center on June 17, 2009, in Los Angeles.
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
The Lakers' 2009 NBA Championship victory parade was underway Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles, CBS station KCBS-TV reports.
Fans donning purple and gold roared with applause, cheers and whistles as Finals MVP Kobe Bryant and teammates joined the parade just after 2 p.m. ET.
Tens of thousands of fans lined up as early as Tuesday night for the parade, and officials with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum confirmed that the venue was filled to its capacity before the parade began. The coliseum can hold nearly 94,000 fans.
Three children were found unattended near the coliseum after the parade began. The children were being taken to the LAPD's Southwest Station, 1546 W. Martin Luther King Boulevard., where parents or guardians could be reunited with them.
The $2 million parade celebrating the Lakers' 15th NBA title was paid for by the Lakers, STAPLES Center owner AEG, and private donors. The city of Los Angeles came under fire for potentially paying $1 million to patrol the event in the middle of city-wide layoffs and furloughs, but private donors stepped in to foot the bill.
Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton warned city residents that there would be "zero tolerance" for misbehavior is the wake of violent activity – including attacks on MTA buses and patrol cars – after the Lakers clenched their final victory over the Orlando Magic in game 5 of the NBA finals.
As of about noon, no major disturbances were reported.
More than 1,500 police officers were deployed to the 2.5-mile parade route from STAPLES center to the Coliseum before dawn.
Traffic was backed up throughout the morning in downtown L.A. as fans headed to the parade and drivers attempted to navigate through various closed streets.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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