Lakers look back at a legend
While fans of the team had time to grieve the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, the Lakers had to continue with games as players dealt with the loss of an icon whom many idolized and others competed against. Some shared their thoughts on what Bryant meant to t
Jared Dudley
“We beat them in Game 4 when I was with Phoenix in the (2010) Western Conference finals, and after the game my mom is holding my oldest daughter [Jaylin] — who is 10 now — and not even knowing it’s my mom [Melinda Schall Dudley], [Bryant] grabbed my daughter’s cheeks and said, ‘This baby is so cute.’ And that’s when my mom said, ‘I’m Jared Dudley’s mother.’ He said, ‘Tell him he’s got a beautiful daughter.’ People do that when they have kids, because I do that to little girls. That’s when you know you have daughters. That’s when you know you are a father. So that to me was, after we just beat you in Game 4 to tie it up 2-2 and this is to go to the [NBA] Finals . ...
“I remember seeing Kobe at the [players association] meeting, and this was when we were going to tell [the owners] that we were going to lock out, and I go to the way back of the room and Kobe is right back there next to me and he says, ‘Hey, tell your mom I said hello.’ He didn’t say hi to me. I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘Your mom, I met here when we played ya’ll in the playoffs. Tell her I said hello.’ Man, I think my mom almost cried when I told her. He does stuff like that. For him being a killer ... he’ll have soft moments. He was hot and cold. He was both. That’s really the Kobe and the Mamba. He was both.”
Anthony Davis
“All the good memories, the ways he inspired me, the ways he inspired this organization. The players on this team. For us, it’s trying to figure out how we can continue to stay in the moment while embracing his legacy every game. It’s been fun to watch him in something like this. And every time we step on the floor, it’s, ‘How do we carry on his legacy?’ And tomorrow’s going to be tough again, but we just got to make sure we stay in the moment as well. When it’s time to grieve, we grieve, and when it’s time to line up between the lines and do what he would want us to do, then we have to do it.”
Quinn Cook
“I’m still kind of messed up about it. It’s almost been a month ... doesn’t feel like it. ... I think the biggest takeaway is that I’m happy that he got his flowers while he was still here. I’ll still be praying for the family because this is forever. I just think about how our team came together through everything because we’re, like, directly in it. A lot of guys obviously had relationships with him, our training staff, medical staff, coaching staff — they’ve been his go-to guys for 20 years. That’s been tough. We all just came together and try to honor him as much as possible, lifting him, and take it day by day.
“Basketball has made it easier for me because that’s still my sanctuary. He’s my favorite player ever. You go to the court at night or you go early in the morning because you thought that he was doing it — and you knew he was doing it. There have been a couple times where I’ve had that conversation with [Lakers assistant] Phil [Handy], a couple times where I didn’t want to come in at night. But there are really no excuses now because I know Kobe would’ve been there. I think things have even made a lot of people go harder.”
LeBron James
“It’s been a celebration ever since we got the horrific news about his life and what he means to the game. But I don’t want to keep going back on it. I think it’s unfair and it’s unjust to his family, as they’re trying to move on. We’re all trying to move on — but also know that he’s with us. His jersey is sitting in my locker right now. But it just puts me in a difficult mind-set when I continue to harp on it . ... I’m trying to [stop], if you can respect that.”
Danny Green
“Every time I played against Kobe, everybody remembers that. As a kid watching him play while growing up and then you compete against him, it was dope. It was a dream come true for me.”
Dwight Howard
“I probably cried as hard as I have in a while, the death of Kobe. It wasn’t because we were close, close friends. It’s just like, man, I just never thought that it’d be Kobe. ... I really wanted to tell him how much I appreciate everything he’s done, all the things he’s said. I just wanted to be able to tell him how I felt about him, and I never got the chance.”
Avery Bradley
“It’s pretty simple, from a basketball memory. Eighty-one, man, I’ll never forget when he scored 81 points. That was like ... pshew .... I’ll never forget. Never forget, I might have been in 10th grade in high school. I watched it. Everyone watched that game live, I feel like, or if you weren’t watching it, you found out and turned it on. I just remember watching that and being like, ‘Yeah, he is the best player in the world.’ At that time, you might have felt like Kobe was already that, but there were other players you admired too.
“But Kobe. Like, I think he became everybody’s favorite after that game . ... I remember hearing interviews with him about it later, and he said it was like he just blacked out. I wonder how that feels. I wonder if it was really just him on the court at that point — like he didn’t even see anybody else.”