GENIUS OF THE COURT Tributes pour in for Kobe
SPORT MOURNS BASKETBALL LEGEND WIGAN UP FOUR A WARR
WIGAN coach Adrian Lam says his side will use comments by Warrington chief executive Karl Fitzpatrick as motivation in Thursday’s Super League opener.
Fitzpatrick expects the Wolves to beat Wigan every time they play them in 2020, having been disappointed by losing
KOBE BRYANT didn’t consider himself a sporting superstar.
But he was. And the news yesterday of his death in a helicopter crash along with four other people – including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna – reverberated around the world.
He was the first guard in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons and the only player in LA Lakers history to have both his jersey numbers – 8 and 24 – retired.
Born in Philadelphia, Bryant, 41, won five NBA championships and 18 All-Star titles before he retired four years ago.
The news was greeted with disbelief, with ex-England striker Gary Lineker writing: “Oh no. How awful.
One of the greatest sportsmen of our lifetime. Utterly tragic.”
Manchester City star Raheem Sterling, a regular visitor to watch NBA at London’s O2, wrote:
“Rest easy Legend.”
American football legend Tom Brady said:
“We miss you already
Kobe”, while ex-NBA star Dwyane Wade wrote: “Nooooooooooo
God please No!”
Sprint king Usain Bolt tweeted: “Still can’t believe” and tennis ace
Andy Murray said on once last year. “We played them four times in 2019 and beat them three times and it was very disappointing we didn’t beat them four times,” he said.
“I expect us to complete a clean sweep against them this year, with our recruitment and the quality of our squad.” Fitzpatrick also claimed new signing Anthony Gelling chose Warrington over Wigan because of their superior squad, which Warriors chairman Ian Lenagan categorically denied.
Now Lam says his team will be fired up by the war of words as they bid to lay down a marker for the new campaign. Asked about
Instagram: “This has hit me hard. Thinking of all his family, friends and colleagues.”
Bryant, who averaged a remarkable 25 points per game, maintained the Lakers’ ‘Showtime’ tradition established by Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal.
The fourth-highest scorer in NBA history with 33,643 points, Bryant only gave up the third spot on the list on Saturday night to LeBron James.
With typical good grace, he extended his congratulations to James on Twitter, posting: “Much respect my brother.”
The respect was all his yesterday.
Fitzpatrick’s comments, Lam said: “They were a bit cheeky, weren’t they?
“Absolutely, it’s motivation for us. It’s a tough thing to do to any club, to have a clean sweep.
“He’s obviously thinking confidently about his squad, but my squad think differently and will respond to that accordingly.”