‘PLEASE NO.’ Luka Doncic among DFW athletes shocked by death of Kobe Bryant
Only a few weeks have passed since Luka Doncic learned something unexpected about Kobe Bryant.
The NBA and Los Angeles Lakers legend knew how to speak some Slovenian, Doncic’s native language, and chose to reveal that to the Dallas Mavericks star Dec. 29 at a peculiar time.
During a Mavs-Lakers game at Staples Center from his courtside seats as Doncic prepared for an inbounds pass. It was trash-talk, too.
Doncic couldn’t believe what he was hearing, then couldn’t believe who he was hearing it from.
That disbelief is nothing compared to how Doncic and the rest of the sports world is feeling.
Bryant was one of nine victims in a fatal helicopter crash Sunday morning near Los Angeles. Bryant, 41, died along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, as they traveled to her basketball game at his Mamba Sports Academy.
Doncic expressed his sorrow on Twitter, including a tweet of a courtside photo of him and Gianna from the game.
“This is so sad. RIP,” Doncic tweeted.
He had also early tweeted, “NO PLEASE,” and “This can’t be trueee!!!” His Twitter cover photo is a shot of him and Bryant after the Dec. 29 game.
Doncic also retweeted Mavs owner Mark Cuban, who wrote about the gift of life.
“We can never forget how precious life is,” Cuban said. “How those who are special to you and never let them forget how deeply you love them.”
Others DFW sports figures went to social media to react to Bryant’s death.
Texas Rangers Hall of Famer Michael Young was born and raised in Covina, California, just outside Los Angeles and just down the street from Rangers manager Chris Woodward. Young was at UC Santa Barbara when Bryant made his NBA debut with the Lakers, who selected him 13th overall in the 1996 draft.
Young remains a die-hard Lakers fan and hasn’t forgotten his roots. That was evident in his tweet following news of the Bryant crash.
“As a born and bred LA kid, this is pure devastation,” Young wrote. “Kobe was LA sports. The grit, the spirit, the fight. Competitively, he was everything we wanted to be. Just thinking of my hometown right now. This cuts deep.”
Woodward said that he learned of the news just before his son’s baseball practice in the Phoenix area. He talked about the effect Bryant was having in retirement, and was a frequent listener of Bryant’s podcast.
Like Young, Woodward’s thoughts were with his hometown.
“He’s an icon and should be,” Woodward. “It’s going to be a huge deal to the city. They’re going to be mourning for some time.”
Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence provided one of the most thoughtful tweets among DFW athletes who reacted to Bryant’s death.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, the Cowboys legend, also shared his sorrow, saying, “My heart just dropped and I feel empty.”
Bryant was an idol to many local athletes who grew up watching him play. That includes former TCU football star Ben Banogu, who was a rookie this season for the Indianapolis Colts, and TCU basketball player RJ Nembhard.
“Lost for words man. My idol is gone,” Nembhard tweeted. “Sending prayers to the Bryant family. Rest easy LEGEND.”
TCU assistant coach Ryan Miller didn’t know Bryant too well, although his brother Mike Miller played with Bryant on USA Basketball teams. Still, Bryant’s impact on the game reached everyone involved in the sport.
“He was the ultimate competitor,” Ryan Miller said. “He invested in the game. Spent hours working on his craft and his game. He was an amazing player and a model on how you work and compete in our game.”
This story was originally published January 26, 2020 at 6:47 PM.
