Less than 24 hours after LeBron James passed Kobe Bryant for No. 3 on the All-Time scoring list and James shared stories of a young Kobe gifting him a pair of his own shoes back when LeBron was just in high school and Bryant was a burgeoning star of back in 2001 during NBA All-Star Weekend, James was understandably shaken upon learning the news of Bryant’s shocking passing.
Bryant, as well as his 13-year old daughter Gianna, passed away in a helicopter crash on Sunday morning in Southern California. The Lakers were in transit from Philadelphia, where Bryant played high school basketball when the news of his sudden passing broke. When the Lakers arrived in Los Angeles from the flight, cameras caught LeBron visibly devastated and wiping off tears.
James, like the rest of the NBA world, is in mourning. But his connection to LeBron, especially given the timing of last night, is impossible to avoid. James has yet to release any official statements but there should be no mistake that he is completely shaken like many others around the world.
