Star LeBron James said the memory of Kobe Bryant remains important to the Los Angeles Lakers as the team intensifies preparations for the relaunched NBA season on July 30 in Florida.
Almost six months after Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people were killed in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles, LeBron recalled that he still thinks about the Lakers legend every day.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him,” LeBron said when asked about Bryant. “Not a day goes by that our organization doesn’t remember him and think not just about Kobe, but about Gigi, Vanessa (his wife) and the other girls.”
Lakers coach Frank Vogel said he believed Bryant’s death, which shocked the entire sporting world, had brought his team together.
“Every time a group like ours goes through something so emotionally deep, I think it forms bonds and strengthens our group,” Vogel told reporters in Orlando.
You never want something like that to happen, but I think that’s the effect of something like that. Always, even before this happened, we wanted to embody what he (Bryant) stood for and even more now with what happened. We want to honor his memory, ”said Vogel.
Vogel said the Lakers’ sense of shared sentiment could serve the team once they enter the playoffs, determined to honor Bryant’s legacy.
– Honoring tenacity –
“I think there will be a daily mindset of honoring work and being that tough on us,” Vogel stressed. “When we get to the playoffs, there will be opportunities and situations where we will refresh our mindset on what he (Bryant) stood for and what his approach was from a competitive spirit standpoint.”
The Lakers enter the NBA restart as they have secured a playoff spot.
When the season was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic on March 11, the Lakers topped the Western Conference standings with 49 wins and 14 losses, 5.5 games ahead of neighboring Los Angeles the Clippers.
Meanwhile, LeBron James said he was not surprised by the news that this year’s NBA Most Valuable Player award would be decided before the league reboots on July 30.
That league decision leaves Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks in pole position to claim MVP honors.
“I’m not disappointed that things happen,” LeBron said Monday. “Control what you can control, and I can’t control that.”
LeBron added that “to be able to have our team at the top of the Western Conference and play the way we were playing at the time and the way I was playing is definitely a good feeling.” AFP (HN).