“There’s no playbook for this one; the sponsors are going to tread incredibly lightly,” said Jeremy Carey, the managing director of Optimum Sports, the sports media and marketing division of the advertising giant Omnicom Media Group. “It’s all too soon.”

Justin Sun, Tron’s founder and chief executive, said his company’s tweet was heartfelt. “I totally understand that there will be different voices from the community, but this is from the bottom of my heart, needing to do the right thing,” he said. “No matter what, we needed to pay tribute to him.”

Like an earlier on-court superstar, Michael Jordan, Mr. Bryant was a gifted marketer away from the game. He earned more from his deals with companies than he did from his salary, according to Forbes, and his success helped shape how current players like LeBron James and Stephen Curry navigate the celebrity endorsement business. Mr. Bryant was a student of the discipline as well, as he showed when he sat in on an international marketing class at Boston College in 2014.

These days, companies have made themselves relevant to customers by quickly responding to news cycles. When an installation featuring a banana taped to a wall at Art Basel drew an intense social-media reaction, companies pumped out online parody ads. When Tesla found itself trending on social media after unveiling its Tesla Cybertruck, Lego posted a photo making fun of it. And shortly after Twitter users deemed a recent Peloton commercial sexist, the “Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds pulled together a response ad for his Aviation American Gin company.

But companies have learned through hard experience to be cautious when it comes to news cycles dominated by celebrity deaths. In 2016, the footwear maker Crocs drew complaints after marking David Bowie’s death with an image of a lightning bolt, inspired by the musician’s “Aladdin Sane” album cover, layered over a white shoe. The Mexican airline VivaAerobus drew similar outrage for posting a photo of a similar lightning bolt on a plane.