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Three hundred and sixty-three days after Kobe Bryant’s death and 104 days after winning an NBA championship in his honor, Los Angeles Lakers co-captains LeBron James and Anthony Davis reflected on the time that has passed. since the world lost Bryant.
“Man, it’s a saying time heals everything,” James said after a win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday at the United Center, where Bryant’s idol Michael Jordan used to play. “And as devastating and tragic as it was and still is for all of us involved, only time. And it takes time. Everyone has their own grieving process.”
Many among the Lakers and in Bryant’s family and close circle of friends are still in mourning, nearly a year after a helicopter crash killed Bryant, 41, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. and seven others.
“As we approach his first birthday, it saddens us to see that he’s gone,” Davis said. “I know I’m still having trouble with this, you still can’t believe it.”
With emotions still running high, the Lakers’ organization has no plans to make this Tuesday, Jan.26 any more difficult than it already will be by putting more emphasis on the anniversary, sources told ESPN . There will be no Black Mamba uniforms worn Monday in Cleveland, the day before the anniversary, or Wednesday in Philadelphia, the next day. There will be no official tribute, which could potentially draw more attention to the heart-wrenching details of the accident and cause more trauma than healing.
The Lakers team will continue to pay homage to Bryant in the subtle way many of their players have since last season: with pairs of Bryant’s signature sneakers on their feet, with a No.24 finger sleeve on James’ hand. , with Bryant’s nickname unifying the group in each small group.
“To this day, it’s ‘Mamba in three!’ every time we bring it because we always want to recognize it’s part of our organization, ”said Davis. “And ever since the tragedy happened, we had the mentality that it was bigger than, you know, ourselves.
James was asked about Bryant at several post-game press conferences this week and asked to discuss the life of the Lakers luminary, but he was reluctant to dwell on the circumstances surrounding Bryant’s death.
“I’m trying not to put myself back in that open space because it’s too dark,” James said, “not only for me, but for our organization and for everyone involved in it.
Lakers center Marc Gasol, whose older brother Pau teamed up with Bryant to win two championships, was also not ready to share his thoughts publicly.
“I’m not comfortable talking about it,” Gasol said. “I’m sorry. To this day, I’ve never really talked about it.”
But talk about how Bryant’s game mirrored Jordan’s? It was something James gladly weighed in, if only for the sake of Bryant’s basketball legacy.
“I only watched Kobe for him,” James said. “And obviously you saw a lot of similarities between him and Mike, but I enjoyed Kobe’s play for Kobe’s play. The way he played the game, the smoothness with which he played, the abilities to handling the ball, shooting, everything he owned on the ground – I respected him for who he was as a player and for what he was able to bring to the ground.
“The fact that he was able to take certain things from MJ and examine some of MJ’s DNA and be able to do that – a lot of people try to do that, a lot of people wish they could take things from some of them. bigger, implement them into their game and then succeed, they just can’t. They don’t have the capacity to do it. They don’t have the will to do it, the mindset to do it . But he actually did and did it at a high level for a long, long time. And you can respect that. “
And Davis marveled at the magnitude of Bryant’s lasting impact, an influence so pervasive that the Lakers’ star great man never fully understood it while Bryant was alive.
“I didn’t know, and I know he was very, very well known and popular, but I didn’t know he was impacting the lives of so many people outside of basketball,” Davis said. “From soccer, to soccer, to overseas players, to people who don’t even play sports, they always talk about the ‘Mamba mentality’. I had no idea how much of an impact he was having around the world. … I just didn’t know how many people he impacted in the world outside of the basketball community. “
This season’s Lakers team are looking for a repeat title to team up with the one they dedicated in memory of Bryant.
“When the tragedy happened it was more true, you know, ‘Let’s do it for him,'” Davis said. “And that’s what we ended up doing all last year.… We know we fought to the end for a goal, and it wasn’t just for ourselves. was for the Bryant family. And we made it happen. “
As Bryant remains in the Lakers’ minds and hearts, James said Bryant will be remembered because he is not only carried by his old franchise, but by the people across the planet in which he is. once flourished.
“There are a lot of things that die in this world, but legends never die, and that’s exactly it,” James said. “So it’s about representing that.”
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