The Brooklyn Nets honored the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant on Wednesday, and Kyrie Irving can't help but be emotional.
Kobe and Gigi were among the nine people who died in a helicopter crash last Sunday in Calabasas, California. They were heading to the Mamba Academy at Thousand Oaks for a basketball game before the helicopter they were riding hit the Calabasas hillside in a foggy morning, resulting to the crash.
To honor Kobe and his daughter, the Nets left two seats empty with flowers on them. Bryantās friend and former Team USA Olympic teammate Kyrie Irving was near tears during the national anthem before the game against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday
Kyrie Irving holding back tears as the Nets honor Kobe Bryant šŖ pic.twitter.com/OhkXfccVBs
ā ClutchPoints NBA (@ClutchPointsNBA) January 30, 2020
Multiple videos made the rounds on social media showing Kobe Bryant good-naturedly ribbing Irving when the latter was a young whippersnapper playing for Team USA.
Clearly, Irving has been deeply affected by the passing of his friend, mentor and idol, yet he was still able to play 32 minutes and score 20 points in a 125-115 Nets win.
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