Much like the rest of the world, retired NBA player Matt Barnes still finds it hard to fathom the reality that Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna are truly gone.

Matt Barnes, who was teammates with Bryant with the Lakers from 2010 to 2012, recently admitted that he still struggling to cope with the tragedy that claimed the lives of nine people last December.

“It's a bad dream. Kobe's gone. It's not supposed to happen to someone like Kobe…he's bigger than that. It's not supposed to happen to Kob. We won't get to hear him again, he won't get to continue to spread the love and knowledge that he had,” Matt Barnes said in a clip from ET  Online.

“He was touchable. One of the greatest players on earth, you could say hi to him you could take pictures with him. I just miss the father. Obviously tremendous, one of the greatest. I don't care about that. I miss the guy that would do anything for my kids, that would do anything for his daughters, would do anything for anybody.”

Barnes carried the reputation as one of the most fearsome wing defenders in the league, and he had his fair share of match-ups with Bryant before he joined the Lakers

The pair even shared one of the most iconic sequences in all of basketball back in 2010 when Barnes was still with the Orlando Magic. Bryant famously did not even flinch when Barnes threw that infamous ball-fake play right to his face.

Apart from Bryant's greatness on the court, Barnes remembered him as a loving father who beamed with pride each time he discussed his four daughters.

“Gigi, when I was sitting there watching her play, I was like ‘what's going on here?' you know, her shooting fadeaways, her biting her jersey and her leading the team, it gave me chills just to watch like that's a little mambacita right there.”

“He spoke proudly about all his girls, even the baby girls, but there was this special twinkle in his eye when you're talking Gigi and basketball with Kob.”

The NBA held a fitting memorial to Kobe Bryant and Gianna on Monday, Feb. 24, at Staples Center. Barnes and the rest of the NBA won't soon forget it.