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Shaq, West among NBA icons grieving Kobe at empty arena

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/reuters/01/29/kb.jpg"/><figcaption><em>Photo courtesy of NBA on TNT&#x27;s Twitter account (@NBAonTNT)</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>LOS ANGELES -- Grief-stricken NBA legends from Jerry West and Shaquille O&#x27;Neal to Dwyane Wade and Charles Barkley were in tears Tuesday as they mourned Kobe Bryant at an empty Staples Center arena.</p><p>Superstars wept while sitting around center court, their raw emotions on display in an hour-long televised tribute to Los Angeles Lakers legend Bryant, who died Sunday at age 41 in a helicopter crash in a haunting moment for all.</p><p>&quot;Haven&#x27;t felt a pain that sharp in a while,&quot; said O&#x27;Neal, a teammate of Bryant on three championship teams. &quot;It was sort of like a triple stabbing to the heart.</p><p>&quot;The fact we lost probably the world&#x27;s greatest Laker, the world&#x27;s greatest basketball player, it&#x27;s going to be hard to get over it.&quot;</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“I haven’t felt a pain that sharp in a while.. it definitely changes me.”’<a href="https://twitter.com/SHAQ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SHAQ</a> on the loss of his brother, Kobe. <a href="https://t.co/dM5i0DDgGK">pic.twitter.com/dM5i0DDgGK</a></p>— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1222314192138428416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p>The Lakers&#x27; game scheduled Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers was postponed by the league in the wake of Bryant&#x27;s death, which left players devastated and inspired heartbroken fans to build a shrine of items outside the arena to honor Bryant.</p><p>&quot;This is a sad city right now,&quot; said West, the 81-year-old former Lakers guard and executive who brought Bryant to LA at 17 and played a fatherly role.</p><p>&quot;Saddest day of my life. I don&#x27;t know if I can get over this. I really don&#x27;t.&quot;</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“He always talked about this Mamba mentality. He didn’t have to create that, it was already there.”<br/><br/>Jerry West on Kobe Bryant. <a href="https://t.co/sjIed4rBfy">pic.twitter.com/sjIed4rBfy</a></p>— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1222320826243936256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p>Instead of a raucous crowd cheering on both local clubs, the arena was dark and silent and deep with sorrow.</p><p>&quot;This is tough. I&#x27;m broken. I really am broken,&quot; said retired guard Reggie Miller, who compared Bryant&#x27;s passing to that of Michael Jackson and Lady Diana.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re in the middle of a shake moment -- we&#x27;re all shook. These emotions, these tears, they are real, and in my lifetime there are only so many shake moments.&quot;</p><p>Former Miami star guard Wade, who idolized Bryant even as he played against him, struggled to cope.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;ve been in shock for two days and this is the first moment where it feels real. I&#x27;m shaking. I&#x27;m numb,&quot; Wade said.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s OK to be hurt. It&#x27;s OK to cry. It&#x27;s OK to share laughter. It&#x27;s OK to have emotion. It&#x27;s OK to get together and talk about memories.&quot;</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“As a young kid, coming into this league, it was one person I wanted the respect from…It was Kobe Bryant.”<a href="https://twitter.com/DwyaneWade?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DwyaneWade</a> reflects on his experience with Kobe. <a href="https://t.co/Z7AHlfkOzp">pic.twitter.com/Z7AHlfkOzp</a></p>— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1222314689259900928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p>The conversation became therapy for sad players and NBA fans, O&#x27;Neal at times in tears over words he longed to tell Bryant but never will.</p><p>&quot;It just makes me think that in life, instead of holding back certain things, we should just do,&quot; O&#x27;Neal said.</p><p>&quot;It definitely changes me. I just have to take time to call and say I love you. Im going to try and do a better job of talking to people instead of procrastinating.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Shaq&quot; only briefly noted the feud that kept him at odds with Bryant for years, but said Bryant was like his brother and added, &quot;You&#x27;re going to have times when things don&#x27;t always go smooth, but the respect is always there.&quot;</p><div><strong>- &#x27;I just feel sad&#x27; -</strong></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“This man knows our true relationship.”<a href="https://twitter.com/SHAQ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SHAQ</a> on the mutual respect between him and Kobe. <a href="https://t.co/SGGGpsoTiz">pic.twitter.com/SGGGpsoTiz</a></p>— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1222329033037213696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p>O&#x27;Neal recalled first meeting Bryant, when teen Kobe boldly predicted, &quot;I&#x27;m going to be the best player in the world and off the court I&#x27;m going to be bigger than (actor) Will Smith.&quot;</p><p>Barkley learned of Bryant&#x27;s death when he left a movie and turned on his cell phone to see 75 missed calls and 100 text messages.</p><p>&quot;I clicked on CNN and I started crying. I&#x27;m not going to lie. I just started crying,&quot; Barkley recalled. &quot;He was part of my basketball fabric... he was like one of my kids. I just felt pain.</p><p>&quot;I just feel sad. That&#x27;s all I can say. I felt like I lost a part of my family... it was an honor to watch him play.&quot;</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“He was like one of my kids.”<br/><br/>Charles on Kobe Bryant. <a href="https://t.co/lWWBl78AAH">pic.twitter.com/lWWBl78AAH</a></p>— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1222317420276150272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p>Miller, whose only trip to the NBA Finals with Indiana ended with watching Bryant win his first title, and O&#x27;Neal hope to move from grief to celebrating.</p><p>&quot;We have the videos, we have the pictures but more importantly we have the memories to celebrate him,&quot; Miller said. &quot;I want to celebrate his life.&quot;</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s time for us to celebrate this man,&quot; O&#x27;Neal said. &quot;We don&#x27;t have time to stop and slow down. We have to keep moving.&quot;</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><p>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.</p>

<p>Grief-stricken NBA legends from Jerry West and Shaquille O'Neal to Dwyane Wade and Charles Barkley were in tears Tuesday as they mourned Kobe Bryant at an empty Staples Center arena.</p>

Grief-stricken NBA legends from Jerry West and Shaquille O'Neal to Dwyane Wade and Charles Barkley were in tears Tuesday as they mourned Kobe Bryant at an empty Staples Center arena.