Athletes, fans mourn death of retired Lakers star Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant, Lakers legend, died Sunday in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif. He was 41.
Condolences poured in upon the sports world hearing the news.
Shaquille O’Neal, who won three titles with Bryant, said there are “no words to express the pain.”
There’s no words to express the pain Im going through with this tragedy of loosing my neice Gigi & my brother @kobebryant I love u and u will be missed. My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW pic.twitter.com/pigHywq3c1
— SHAQ (@SHAQ) January 26, 2020
Tom Brady shared an old photo of himself and Bryant at a game.
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A number of Celtics expressed incredulity at the news.
Marcus Smart:
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B7zDTT-nh3h/
Jayson Tatum:
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B7zEzS-gWX1/
Enes Kanter:
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Carsen Edwards:
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Vincent Poirier:
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Grant Williams:
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B7y6lKEDoFc/?igshid=1wpzrmo55ma0e
Tacko Fall:
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Robert Williams:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7y6cQVBa89/?igshid=1dhiip93oh1md
Daniel Theis:
RIP Kobe Bryant 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/ktPu0YjDPr
— Daniel Theis (@dtheis10) January 26, 2020
Romeo Langford:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7y7UVlAa7V/?igshid=1mx5y7pull4r6
Former Celtics also chimed in about the news.
Bill Russell:
Jeannine & I are absolutely shocked to hear of the loss of one of my favorite people & one of the best basketball minds in the history of the game! Our hearts & prayers to Vanessa & his girls. @kobebryant you were my biggest fan, but I was yours #RIPMAMBA @NBA @espn @SLAMonline pic.twitter.com/Ll0BD6VWgr
— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) January 26, 2020
Paul Pierce:
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Kendrick Perkins:
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Tony Allen:
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Cedric Maxwell:
I’m heart broken. Totally heart broken.
Everyone in #Boston is draped in purple & gold today for #Kobe.
Prayers To the Bryant family, the #Lakers family and the entire #NBA community.
God bless. #RIPMAMBA #RIPKobeBryant #RIPKobe pic.twitter.com/raC0UcuIu0
— Cedric Maxwell (@cedricmaxwell81) January 26, 2020
And NBA stars around the league expressed their sadness.
Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid:
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Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young:
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…This S*** can’t be real… this the first moment I was able to meet Gianna Maria, she’s been to only 3 games this year… 2 of them were mine… She told me I was her favorite player to watch🙏🏽 I can’t believe this😢😭
Rest Easy Gigi❤️ pic.twitter.com/IfDrE9Gjlv
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) January 26, 2020
Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic:
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🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 this is so sad! RIP💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/5ykf0drVSG
— Luka Doncic (@luka7doncic) January 26, 2020
Cleveland Cavaliers’ Tristan Thompson:
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Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert:
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Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban:
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To all of my friends, thank you. Each of you have shared part of yourself with me and made my life better. I have tried to do the same. If you were here I would hug you like I just hugged my family. It hurts that it takes a tragedy to remind us of our mortality.#hugyourfriends
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) January 26, 2020
And other Patriots shared their memories and appreciation.
Julian Edelman:
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Sony Michel:
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James White:
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Ja’Whaun Bentley:
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Duron Harmon:
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Kyle Van Noy:
https://twitter.com/KVN_03/status/1221551457071030272?s=20
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