The NBA and the world of sports, in general, lost a huge figure in Kobe Bryant. As the days go by more people react to this tragic event. Two of the last figures to reflect on Kobe and his life as a competitor, a father and a world icon were Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony.
CP3 has spoken out about the sudden and tragic passing of Kobe. They played together with Team USA that won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics in 2008 and 2012. The Thunder point guard posted a heartfelt message on Instagram dedicated to KB24.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B74mPgqluzJ
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to fully process it,” Paul wrote. “Sometimes we competed so hard against each other that you could never tell how I was always watching YOU!!”
Melo paid tribute to the Black Mamba on Instagram, too, revealing Kobe was going to attend next Friday’s game between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers. These two never played together, but they crossed paths many times over the years.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B74kHyPA3qu
“I hate when I have so much to say, but I can’t put any of it into words,” Anthony wrote. “The times I have the most to say are the times that I can’t talk. I’m screaming inside but I can’t be heard. YOU don’t know how hard it is to try to pretend to smile when I have these clouds of emotions.”
The NBA world has spent the last 48 hours mourning the loss of the Bryants as well as commemorating his legacy. Proof of that is that players have worn Nos. 8 and 24 — the two numbers Bryant wore in his 20-year professional career—either during games or in pregame warmups.
Other players have informally started retiring the future Hall of Famer’s numbers, like Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie changing his from No. 8 to 26.
