Spike Lee pays tribute to Kobe Bryant at Oscars with custom '24' tuxedo by Gucci

Spike Lee paid tribute to the late basketball star Kobe Bryant on Sunday night's Oscars red carpet.

The director stepped out in a custom Gucci suit with '24' embroidered across the lapels and back.

The suit's purple and yellow colourway reflected Bryant's LA Lakers strip. He teamed the suit with a pair of Nike Kobe 9 Elite 'Strategy' sneakers.

Lee directed the late basketball star in the 2009 documentary Kobe Doin' Work.

"He beat me" he joked in a red carpet interview with E!, referencing Bryant's Oscar win for short film Dear Basketball in 2018 ahead of Lee's Academy Award win in 2019.

He later stepped out on stage to present Bong Joon Ho with the Best Director award for Parasite.

This isn't the first time Lee has paid tribute to a late star on the red carpet.

At the 2019 Oscars, he honoured popstar Prince in a purple Ozwald Boateng Suit.