Carmelo played heartbroken
A somber Carmelo Anthony found his late friend’s “Mamba Mentality” the night Kobe Bryant died.
Anthony’s Trail Blazers were among the 16 NBA teams that played following Kobe Bryant’s tragic death on Jan. 26, and the Blazers outlasted the Pacers 139-129.
“Honestly, knowing him, the way I know him, he would have wanted me to play,” a teary-eyed Anthony told reporters after the game. “This probably was the hardest game I ever had to play.
“Just uh … I don’t know … whoooo. It was tough.”
Anthony and Bryant grew close during two Olympic gold medal runs in 2008 and 2012. Anthony, Team USA’s all-time leading scorer, said he learned so much from Bryant to improve his game, but it was the off-thecourt relationship that made their bond special.
“Our friendship and relationship was deeper than basketball,” Anthony said. “It was family. It was friendship. Basketball was the last piece of connective tissue between us two.”
Anthony said he heard of Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash via his wife, LaLa, who called him crying. He had arrived in Portland, Oregon, with his 12-year-old son that morning.
“At that point, everything went numb, dark,” Anthony said. “Basketball for me was the furthest thing on my mind.”
Anthony was seen on the bench at times during the Indiana game burying his head in his towel and pulling his hood over his head.
“I had to pull myself back in and check back in emotionally,” Anthony said. “Because I wasn’t there.”