‘Shock, denial, heartbreak’: Kings coach Luke Walton reacts to death of Kobe Bryant
Kings coach Luke Walton spoke publicly for the first time Monday about the death of friend and former teammate Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others Sunday morning in Calabasas.
Walton and Bryant spent eight seasons together with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2003-11. Walton started 60 games alongside Bryant in 2006-07, averaging 11.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. They won back-to-back NBA championships together in 2009 and 2010.
When Walton was introduced as the Kings head coach in April, he referred to Bryant as “the most intense individual I’ve ever played the game with.”
Walton was asked a series of questions about Bryant following the team’s shootaround Monday in Minneapolis, where the Kings were preparing to play the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Q: Coach, what was your initial reaction when you heard the initial news about Kobe yesterday?
A: “Shock, denial, all those things that we use to deal with really sad news, and it’s been one of the harder times in my life this last 24 hours. Kobe was a friend, a teammate, most importantly, a father. I know that’s what was most important to him. The love he had for his family and his daughters is heartbreaking and it’s tough to deal with, honestly.
“The basketball world, we lost one of our greats, and I don’t just mean that by what he did on the court but just the way he lived his life. Every day, he got the most out of it. Whether he was attacking treatments or attacking skill sets, he lived his life to the fullest every single day and he’s an absolute inspiration. I’m honored to be able to call myself his friend and his teammate and his brother, and all those things that came with the years we spent together. I — and all of us — are going to miss him very, very much.”
Q: A lot of guys on the team, they grew up watching him, and I’m sure it hit them pretty hard, too. How do you, as a coach, bring everyone together knowing you have a game to play tonight with everything that’s going on?
A: Players: “It’s hard. We talk about it. It’s life. Life is hard. There are moments that challenge us and what I’ve found is, together, we can get through those easier, more efficiently than we can alone, and guys here are hurt. Whether you knew him or not, he was that type of guy and he had that type of influence on the NBA world that everybody’s hurting. It’s hard to think about playing, but I also laugh thinking about what Kobe would say, and it goes back to his mentality. ‘So what? What’s next?’
“No matter what he was looking down, no matter what the odds were against, he took on every single challenge. He would want us out here playing. He would want us competing at the highest level and that, to me, is the best way we can honor him is really to play and leave it all out there on the court like he did every single night.”
Q: That mentality — is that kind of what made his second act so special, just how he’s kind of reinvented himself?
A: “He’s incredible. It’s not easy to retire from sports. You play your entire life and for him and how invested he was and how much time — I mean, I’ve talked to him about it before. I thought it would be a struggle. He gave so much to the game of basketball and when he decided to give it up and hang it up, he was able to shift all that time and effort and energy into his family. I mean, he was so proud of those girls of his.
“I remember when I had my baby girl, he called and he was so excited. He said it’s the greatest thing in the world, the father-daughter relationship, and to see how quickly and easily he could move from basketball, which consumes us, to life after basketball, which was business and family and all the things he was into. He was so locked in and excited. It speaks to his mindset and what can be accomplished when you’re focused and you have the drive that obviously not many people in the world have ever had, but it’s impressive to see when someone does.”
Walton was then asked if he had a favorite memory of Bryant.
“There’s not one. I have millions from practice to — I mean, he attacked practice like every game. If he was in practice, he was fighting, trying to win. He was challenging us as teammates. If we were having off days, he wouldn’t accept it, so he was tough. He expected a lot out of us, but he also had a very soft, loving, fun side that, when you got to know him, made you willing to do anything to be on his side.
“I still can’t — I don’t know if I’ve fully accepted it, but it’s really, really hard to think that we don’t have him with us anymore. My love (goes out to) his family and (his wife) Vanessa and his other girls. I pray for them and we’re going to miss him very, very much.”
This story was originally published January 27, 2020 at 1:53 PM.
