Among the many who are going through a tough time following the passing of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant is Kyrie Irving. The Brooklyn Nets point guard had a unique mentor-mentee relationship with the future Hall of Famer.
In his return to the court, after he stepped away on Sunday with news of Bryant’s passing, Irving has been electric. Following his 54-point performance against the Chicago Bulls, Irving explained how the Nets have helped him cope with the process, and how simply getting back to the game that brought him close to Bryant has helped in this difficult time:
Definitely been, like I said, just picking up the pieces that were left. It’s still hard. Everyone’s still grieving. Still an open wound. But I think, just coming out here, knowing that this is a place were we connected on a deeper scale it makes a lot of sense on what’s happening. But, [I’m] just trying to put the days together. Do as best you can, but really it’s the collective environment that I’m in. They’re just getting me energy, feeding me energy. I’m able to come in about three, four hours before. And I’m following someone’s footsteps.
“Yeah, it felt incredible, but you know you have a game in 18 hours, you feel as good as you can.” – Kyrie Irving #NETSonYES pic.twitter.com/LBcvt7SXSi
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) February 1, 2020
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