A stoic Lonzo Ball sat in his locker after Sunday’s win by the Pelicans over the Celtics. Under normal circumstances, Ball and his teammates would be elated for a win over an Eastern Conference contender as they look to save their own playoff contention.
But Sunday was far from normal.
Hours before tip-off, news broke of Kobe Bryant’s passing in a helicopter crash that also took the life of daughter Gianna and seven others. Forced to play the game at hand against the Boston Celtics, Ball and the players found ways to honor the NBA legend whether through messages on shoes or honorary shot-clock violations.
Afterward, Ball, a California native that spent multiple seasons as a Laker, spoke to a swarm of reporters about Bryant’s impact on Los Angeles.
“Not even LA, I think just globally in general, I mean he was my generation’s Michael Jordan, if you think about it. He’s the closest thing that we’ve seen to it. Everybody my age and around my age all watched him growing up. He was an influence on everybody’s life. Like I said, we lost a legend today.”
Ball said he was happy about an important win but still overall saddened by the events of the day. When asked about why Bryant was such an influential character, he found himself at a loss for words.
“I think the stuff he did on the court and off the court. He’s, obviously, one of the hardest workers the game’s ever seen, one of the greatest players the game’s ever seen. He’s also a great father. I really don’t know what to say. It was hard for me to play today.”
Once deemed the savior of Los Angeles basketball, Ball never formally met Bryant until his rookie season. But like so many others not in Los Angeles, his impact was felt long before the face-to-face meeting.
“But growing up, he was on the TV all the time. Everybody wants to be Kobe. Shooting shots into the trashcan when you’re a little kid in school, yelling ‘Kobe.’ His influence on everybody is tremendous.”
While Ball shared his reaction in front of cameras, the reaction of his brother’s was shared on social media. LaMelo shared a heartfelt video on Instagram late Sunday night while LiAngelo also took to Instagram to share his disbelief.
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