NEW YORK -- Kobe Bryant authored some of his most memorable moments at Madison Square Garden and made himself a centerpiece of the Los Angeles Lakers-Boston Celtics rivalry.
Bryant was remembered for that and so much more Sunday after the five-time NBA champion, his teenage daughter and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash.
Tributes poured in from around the basketball, entertainment and political worlds. Players and teams who competed with and against Bryant struggled their way through the games that were scheduled, unable to summon his intense competitive spirit.
"We laughed and joked about the Mamba mentality. We're all going to need it right now," Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said through tears before his team played in Orlando.
University of Arkansas assistant basketball coach Clay Moser worked with the Lakers from 2011-19, first as an advance scout, then as an assistant coach/director of strategy. He was around Bryant for five of those seasons.
"Kobe's basketball career and ongoing cultural influence go without saying," Moser said in a statement from the UA. "I always judged him as to how he treated my family. He was always gracious and kind to them. My five years with him was the best and most educational time of my life. Thank you and RIP 'Two-Four'."
Madison Square Garden was lit up in the Lakers' gold and purple colors for the game between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets. The 18-time All-Star made his first All-Star appearance at MSG in 1998, a passing of the torch game in which Michael Jordan played for the final time as a member of the Chicago Bulls. Bryant later set the scoring record at the current arena when he scored 61 points in 2009, a mark that was later bettered by Carmelo Anthony.
Bryant played twice against Rivers and the Celtics for the championship, with Boston winning in 2008 and the Lakers taking the 2010 title, when Bryant was the MVP.
"We always liked to reminisce. We would always laugh at our versions of our losses," Rivers said. "You know, when we beat them in 2008, he had his version. And when they beat us in 2010, I had my version, and then we would laugh at how different we looked at the games."
The Lakers and Celtics already had the NBA's most famous rivalry, but it had been dormant since the heydays of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird before Bryant helped lead its resumption.
Johnson, just days after giving an emotional speech during a memorial service for former NBA Commissioner David Stern, was devastated again after Bryant, 41, and 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among those killed in Southern California.
"As I try to write this post, my mind is racing," Johnson wrote on Twitter. "I'm in disbelief and have been crying all morning over this devastating news that Kobe and his young daughter, Gigi have passed away in a helicopter crash. Cookie and I are heartbroken."
Bryant also helped the U.S. win Olympic titles in 2008 and 2012, after the Americans had been shut out of gold medals in major international basketball competitions since 2000.
"He was in constant pursuit of doing something special and there will never be a greater warrior in our sport," said Mike Krzyzewski, who coached Bryant on those teams after trying to recruit him to Duke.
Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman also shared his thoughts.
"Kobe had as much impact on the game of basketball as any player in the history of the NBA," Musselman said in a UA statement. "He is one of the all-time great competitors. This is one of the saddest days for the basketball world I can ever remember. Our thoughts and prayers are with Kobe's wife, his daughters and his family."
Players around the NBA honored Bryant by holding the ball for 24 seconds -- one of his jersey numbers -- for a 24-second shot clock violation at the start of games. Hawks All-Star guard Trae Young, who usually wears No. 11, wore Bryant's other number Sunday night, No. 8, in Atlanta's game against the Wizards.
Philadelphia 76ers center Joe Embiid said that he started playing basketball after watching Bryant in the 2010 NBA Finals.
"I had never watched ball before that and that finals was the turning point of my life," Embiid wrote on Twitter. "I WANTED TO BE LIKE KOBE. I'm so FREAKING SAD right now!!!!"
Former Lakers star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tweeted that "Most people will remember Kobe as the magnificent athlete who inspired a whole generation of basketball players. But I will always remember him as a man who was much more than an athlete."
Sports on 01/27/2020