Former NBA coach Rudy Tomjanovich knows the greatness of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant on multiple levels.
For the first seven seasons of Bryant’s storied career from 1996 through 2003, “Rudy T” was the head coach of the Houston Rockets — a longtime rival of the Lakers in the NBA’s Western Conference.
Then, in the 2004-05 season, Tomjanovich himself coached the future Hall of Famer for 43 games as the Lakers’ head coach. (Tomjanovich resigned midway through that season due to physical and mental exhaustion, though he has since remained a consultant with the team.)
On Sunday, Tomjanovich was signing autographs at a previously scheduled event in the Houston area when news leaked of Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles. Shortly thereafter, Tomjanovich spoke about the tragedy to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston.
Tomjanovich’s emotional words:
First of all, I’m very shocked and sad. It’s just so sad that things can happen that fast. Here’s a guy who had a tremendous, one of the best careers of all-time. World renowned. All over the world, he’s a recognizable person. He’s a great person. It alerts you to how short life can be, or what can happen. It’s one of the saddest things I’ve heard.
Kobe was such a driven, magnetic, explosive… the outbursts of points that he would do… he was legendary. He was a living legend, right down to his last game. That was just amazing. It’s just very sad.
Bryant was 41 years old.
During 20 seasons with the Lakers, Bryant was a five-time NBA champion; a two-time MVP and scoring champion; and an 18-time All-Star.
In his last game, which Tomjanovich cited, Bryant scored 60 points and rallied the Lakers to a season- and career-closing win on April 13, 2016.
