The death of Kobe Bryant rocked the NBA community Sunday afternoon, including the Boston Celtics’ locker room.
And though Bryant rivaled the Celtics for much of his 20-year NBA career, there still was plenty of love coming from Boston’s camp following the tragic news.
Head coach Brad Stevens choked back tears while discussing Bryant’s legacy before the Celtics’ matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Arena, calling Bryant the “ultimate competitor” and a great father.
“My favorite part has been watching him transition as a dad to a coach, so (this news is) really hard,” Stevens said, via NBC Sports Boston. “… There’s no right or wrong emotion when you’re experiencing something like this. These guys, I’d say most of the guys in the league, the way that I’d describe it is… Kobe’s their (Michael) Jordan. … He broke the hearts of the Celtics many times, but there’s probably no greater appreciation for him than all of us that work for the Celtics, and certainly our fans. And all of our players totally looked up to him and totally admired him.”
"He broke the hearts of the Celtics many times." Coach Stevens shares some words about Kobe Bryant pic.twitter.com/pPBtddQT0r
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 26, 2020
Well said.
