TRAGEDY HITS HOME: ‘THIS IS BEYOND TOUGH’
DENVER — Sorrow, thick and heavy, hung over the arena, the customary and familiar trappings of an NBA game unable to break through.
For nearly an hour, as players and staff made their way around Pepsi Center hallways before Sunday’s game between the Rockets and Nuggets, following the usual routines by habit, eyes were empty, most transfixed on phones in the desperate hope the news that had stunned them was not real.
Fans were in shock, players in pain.
The death of Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others in a helicopter crash had shaken the NBA to its core, moving it from disbelief to agonizing,
inescapable reality.
“Today is one of the toughest days of my life,” Rockets forward P.J. Tucker said. “Playing today was tough. This is beyond tough.
“He was one of those people God sent. Nobody like him. There’ll never be another people like him. Still trying to process it. I don’t remember much about the game. I’m sorry. This game just didn’t mean a whole lot now. As soon as it was over, reality begins. It’s actually real.”
Center Tyson Chandler cried on the Rockets bench after a moment of silence so quiet one could hear a teardrop fall. James Harden, for whom Bryant went from hero to friend, milled around the court appearing stunned. Russell Westbrook did his usual pregame dash and shout but then walked under the rim with hands on his hips, looking up toward the crowd or rafters but, really, nowhere.
While players who had been chosen to speak for the group met with media, others sat lost in thoughts, silent and sullen.
“We lost somebody that meant so much to all of us,” said Rockets guard Austin Rivers, holding back tears. “Then when you hear about his daughter — as a father, I’ve said many prayers for that family, and I’m going to continue to do so. It looked like he was the happiest he’s ever been after basketball. His and Gigi’s relationship — everybody saw it.
“I don’t know how we played today. I would start thinking about the game; it would just snap back into my mind. This pain is not going to go away any time soon.”
Few in life get to meet, much less get to know, their heroes. This generation of NBA players did. Bryant was a legend and a global sports icon. But to those who played with and against him and those who have followed, he was that and more.
“Kobe meant so much to the game,” Tucker said. “Each and every player that played against him just tried to just be around him, steal a piece of his knowledge and his mind. He was so smart. He helped so many guys out, just all the time. Simple conversations I will remember all my life. The best player of my generation.”
Rockets development coach John Lucas’ relationship with the five-time NBA champion began long before
Bryant’s fame, when Bryant was in eighth grade and Lucas began working with him. Years later, when Bryant took the singer Brandy to the prom, Lucas’ daughter, Tarvia, and her date went with them. When Bryant began his NBA career, he would work out in the summers with Lucas, staying in his home, as he did on road trips for years.
“I’m struggling, really struggling,” Lucas said. “He was sent here to do what he did. We would have workouts at 6 a.m. He was the first there. Nobody worked like him. And he had an aura about him. Everybody is torn up. He was our Wilt Chamberlain, our Michael Jordan.”
In some ways, Bryant had passed a torch to LeBron James on Saturday night when he helped celebrate
James’ passing him for third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. But Bryant’s importance was as undeniable as the sense of loss that swept the league Sunday.
“It was pretty somber before the game with that devastating news,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “It shook guys a lot. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, Vanessa and the kids. Just an unbelievable tragedy.”
Said Nuggets coach Michael Malone, “I remember where I was when John F. Kennedy got shot, when Dr. (Martin Luther) King got shot. Our players will always remember this day because of that news and losing somebody like that before we should’ve lost him.”
As the game moved on, a sense of normalcy began to creep in. Players competed hard, as if seeking that escape. But they were masking pain certain to return.
“It’s devastating, man,” Rockets guard Eric Gordon said. “This one hurt to the core. Hearing news like that before the game, it was tough to stay focused. A guy you admire, how you looked up to him. With all their families, they need all the support they can get. I mean all the support they can get. That’s just the toughest thing you can deal with.
“I knew his family. He loved his family. His girls were playing basketball. He was doing the stuff you’re supposed to do. I’m telling you it hurts to the core.”