Reactions To Kobe Bryant’s Passing
The NBA world was stunned today when future Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Maria Onore Bryant died in a fatal helicopter crash that killed seven other people. The NBA sent out a confirmatory email verifying the passing of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).
Several key sites in Bryant’s life are already being flooded with tributes and fans. Ramona Shelburne of ESPN tweets that hundreds of fans have arrived at the scene of the crash in Calabasas, with the wreckage still smoking. Rich Hoffman of The Athletic (Twitter link) documented a small shrine to Bryant developing at Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia, Bryant’s alma matter. The Athletic’s Brett Dawson took stock of mourners gathering at Staples Center (Twitter link), the Lakers’ current home arena.
ESPN.com compiled the reflections of several NBA players and non-basketball athletes (present and retired), including Joel Embiid, Tony Parker, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Scottie Pippen, and Tom Brady.
Bryant’s two most important teammates, Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal (Twitter links) and future Hall of Famer Pau Gasol (Twitter link), also penned moving tributes.
Though all of today’s NBA games appear on track to continue, not all the players are up for logging time. Nets guard Kyrie Irving, famously close with Bryant, will be sitting out today’s tilt against the Knicks, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link).
Here are more reactions to Bryant’s death:
- Scott Horner of the Indianapolis Star compiled many of the tributes from current and historic Pacers, including Reggie Miller and Myles Turner, plus other NBA and sports luminaries.
- European football star Neymar dedicated his second goal this evening to Bryant, according to ESPN FC (Twitter link).
- Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry paid tribute to Bryant’s appreciation for his legions of fans in comments to reporters, captured by Ben Golliver of the Washington Post (Twitter link). “The last game he was here he stood right there in that locker room and signed every piece of memorabilia,” Gentry said. “That’s the side of him that people didn’t see.”
- Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, whose Celtics battled Bryant’s Lakers in the 2008 and 2010 NBA Finals, was in tears talking to reporters. “The news is just devastating to everybody who knew him,” Rivers said (video link via NBA TV). “He means a lot to me obviously… I was getting to know him more since he retired. This is a tough one.”
- J.A. Adande, an ESPN Around The Horn panelist and the Director of Sports Journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, spoke about Bryant’s legendary work ethic during a SportsCenter conversation. “Since the year 2000, he has been the predominant Los Angeles athlete,” Adande said. “LA fans have always appreciated hard work… he was a dedicated player, a hardworking player.” Adande covered a vast majority of Bryant’s playoff games for ESPN and the LA Times. ESPN reporter Jay Williams paid tribute to Bryant on SportsCenter (Twitter link) as well.
- Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated proposes having both All-Star teams this season wear tributary jerseys for Bryant’s two jersey numbers (Twitter link). Mannix proposed that Team LeBron could wear No. 8, while Team Giannis could wear No. 24.
NBA Moves Forward With Sunday’s Games In Wake Of Kobe’s Death
In the wake of the tragic news that Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter have died in a helicopter crash, there was uncertainty over whether the NBA would move forward with tonight’s slate of games. Although the league hasn’t officially confirmed that all of Sunday’s games will be played, two of them are already underway and there’s no indication that any of the rest will be cancelled.
Tributary moments of silence were held during the day’s afternoon games in Denver and San Antonio. Another is planned in Atlanta for tonight’s Hawks/Wizards tilt, according to Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). The rest of Sunday’s games will almost certainly follow suit.
At the start of this afternoon’s contest between the Spurs and Raptors, the two teams exchanged 24-second shot clock violations in tribute to Bryant’s jersey, No. 24 (video link). Fans in San Antonio chanted “Kobe!” and gave a standing ovation.
The Lakers are not in action today.
Alex Kirschenbaum contributed to this post.
Kobe Bryant Dies In Helicopter Crash
Lakers legend Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash on Sunday morning in Calabasas, California, according to a report from TMZ. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter) is among those who have confirmed the report.
Bryant and eight other people are dead after his private helicopter crashed and caught fire on a hillside in the Calabasas area, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva (Twitter link). Initial reports from TMZ and others had indicated that Bryant was one of just five people on board, but Villanueva confirmed there were eight passengers, plus the pilot.
Kobe’s wife Vanessa Bryant wasn’t among the passengers on the helicopter, according to TMZ. However, reps for Bryant tell TMZ Sports that his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Maria Onore was also on board and died in the crash.
TMZ’s report suggests that the helicopter was on the way to the Mamba Academy in Thousand Oaks for a basketball practice, while Wojnarowki reports that it was en route to a travel basketball game. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), another player and parent were also on board.
It’s a shocking and devastating development for the NBA community. Bryant, who was just 41 years old, is considered one of the league’s greatest players of all-time and is only four years removed from appearing in his final All-Star Game. Although Bryant was a Laker for his entire career, he’s connected in various ways to a number of franchises around the NBA, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic observes (via Twitter).
Many of today’s stars also grew up idolizing Kobe, a five-time NBA champion who earned 15 All-NBA nods, 18 All-Star berths, 12 All-Defensive honors, a pair of scoring titles, and is the league’s fourth all-time leading scorer, averaging 25.0 PPG in 1,346 career regular season games. Both of the uniform numbers he wore for the Lakers – Nos. 8 and 24 – have been retired by the franchise.
Following his retirement in 2016, Bryant hosted offseason camps for current NBA players, most recently in the summer of 2019. Besides stars like Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Kyrie Irving, young players such as Jamal Murray, John Collins, and Aaron Gordon participated in those camps.
News of Bryant’s death comes less than 24 hours after LeBron James passed him in all-time points. Bryant’s last tweet, published on Saturday, lauded James for “continuing to move the game forward.” LeBron, meanwhile, was effusive in his praise for Bryant this week.
“It’s another guy that I looked up to when I was in grade school and high school,” LeBron said, per ESPN. “Seeing him come straight out of high school, he is someone that I used as inspiration. It was like, wow. Seeing a kid, 17 years old, come into the NBA and trying to make an impact on a franchise, I used it as motivation. He helped me before he even knew of me because of what he was able to do. So, just to be able to, at this point of my career, to share the same jersey that he wore, be with this historical franchise and just represent the purple and gold, it’s very humbling and it’s dope.
“Kobe’s a legend, that’s for damn sure.”
We at Hoops Rumors send our condolences to Bryant’s family and friends.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cameron Payne Leaves CBA For G League
After appearing in just two games in the Chinese Basketball Association, point guard Cameron Payne has departed the Shanxi Loongs for the G League, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando. Payne joined the Loongs in November. He has been claimed off waivers by the Mavericks’ Frisco-based affiliate, the Texas Legends.
The former NBA point guard was drafted at the tail end of the 2015 NBA lottery with the No. 14 pick by the Thunder. The 6’3″ Murray State alum spent his four NBA seasons on the Thunder, Bulls and Cavaliers.
Over the course of his NBA career, Payne averaged a slash line of 6.0 PPG, 2.5 APG, and 1.8 RPG, while shooting 33.1% from three-point range on 2.4 attempts. He started in just 28 of a possible 153 games.
Knicks Notes: Branding, Oakley, Dotson, Udrih
The Knicks need more than a brand agency to help improve their image with fans, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. On Thursday, Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg broke the news that the team will be partnering with Steve Stoute’s Translation agency, which helped create a positive image for the Nets. Stoute will serve as a special adviser to the Knicks and will use data and analytics to develop public relations campaigns.
“We have a ways to go,” Stoute told Soshnick. “People can say what they want, but the world knows when you get it right — when the New York team is winning — basketball is better. When the New York Knicks are right, the NBA is a better place. That is the opportunity.”
Popper contends there’s little the franchise can do to improve its image as long as it’s putting a losing product on the court. He adds that the basketball side of the Knicks brand is “poison” because of a “culture of fear and backstabbing” that has executives and coaches afraid to speak out about the problems that are holding back the organization.
There’s more out of New York:
- The new marketing effort could result in the return of Knicks legend Charles Oakley to Madison Square Garden, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. A source tells Berman that Oakley and Stoute are friends, and the power forward tweeted a congratulatory message this morning. Oakley has been a vocal critic of team owner James Dolan, particularly since being evicted from the Garden in 2017. Oakley claims the incident has caused some players to decide they don’t want to play for the Knicks.
- Damyean Dotson‘s improved play has helped make up for the loss of RJ Barrett, who is sidelined with a sprained ankle, observes Greg Joyce of The New York Post. Dotson made seven of 10 shots and scored 21 points Friday night. “We find the minutes for the guys that need to be playing,” interim coach Mike Miller said. “As they’re out they’re playing, Dot’s playing well, so he played the whole fourth quarter.”
- Beno Udrih has joined the coaching staff for the Knicks’ G League affiliate in Westchester, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Udrih spent 13 years in the NBA, including a brief stop in New York.
Lakers Notes: Kuzma, LeBron, Howard, KCP
It’s too early to declare that Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma can’t be effective alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, writes Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. He notes that Kuzma missed training camp because of a foot injury he suffered with Team USA and didn’t get a chance to develop chemistry with his All-Star teammates. Kuzma has been mentioned as a possible trade option, but coach Frank Vogel says his value to the team is increasing.
“His rhythm is growing, with our offense, with his new teammates, with the defensive schemes,” Vogel said. “All those things when they change frequently for a young player, it can be a challenge. But I think he is coming around … he has got to make the right plays. Sometimes that means you don’t take as many shots because the defense is rotating to you or double teaming you. That’s something we preach to the whole team … it’s not different with Kyle. Some nights he is going to facilitate more, some nights he is going to be the recipient more.”
Mannix believes the Lakers will decide to keep Kuzma and hope he becomes a consistent third scoring option. He points out that Kuzma is only 24 and is trying to find his role on a team that has undergone considerable changes in the last two offseasons.
There’s more Lakers news to pass along:
- After James passed Kobe Bryant last night to move into third place on the career scoring list, the all-time record now seems attainable, states Ben Golliver of The Washington Post. James remains at the top of his game at age 35 and is averaging more than 25 PPG for the 16th straight season. He needs 4,733 points to catch Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which would mean averaging about 20 PPG for three more years.
- Sean Deveney of Heavy examines whether the Lakers are willing to pay Dwight Howard enough to keep him when he becomes a free agent this summer. A rival executive tells Deveney that Howard should be able to demand “a good part” of L.A.’s $9.7MM mid-level exception. “I am very happy here,” Howard said of L.A. “I like being here, I am having fun being here. I don’t know what is going to happen in the future, but I know I can’t think about that or focus on it. I am just focused on being here.”
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has overcome a rough start to become an important contributor, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. He has also quieted the boos at Staples Center that were frequent when his shot was misfiring early in the season. “He trusts his talent,” assistant coach Jason Kidd said. “He’s done what we’ve asked him to do, from coming off the bench to starting, to coming off again. That’s a true pro.”
Mavs Notes: Cauley-Stein, Broekhoff, Cash, Green
The Mavericks officially acquired Willie Cauley-Stein from the Warriors yesterday, but it’s not clear when he’ll start playing, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Cauley-Stein will report to the team today in Oklahoma City, but probably not in time for an afternoon practice. He may see a few minutes Monday against the Thunder or Tuesday against the Suns, but coach Rick Carlisle isn’t committing to either game.
“We’ll give him the crash course and try to simplify things for him initially, get him going and see where we are,” Carlisle said.
Forward Ryan Broekhoff could return tomorrow from a fractured left fibula, which lessens the need to use Cauley-Stein before he becomes familiar with the playbook. Carlisle said he spoke with his new center, who is excited to be joining the team.
“We think he’s a guy that has some really unique abilities,” Carlisle said. “We’ve got to get him integrated and get him ready. He’s a rim-protector. He’s a rim-roller. His rebounding is good. We feel there’s areas that he can get better. I talked to him a little bit about those things. We’ll coach him hard, and with a lot of respect, and we’ll see where we can help his game go from here.”
There’s more from Dallas:
- The Mavericks received an A-minus grade on the deal from Sam Quinn of CBS Sports, who notes that Cauley-Stein is an above-average pick-and-roll threat who will benefit from a chance to play alongside Luka Doncic. He adds that Cauley-Stein is a better rebounder than Dwight Powell, who was lost for the season with an Achilles injury this week.
- Dallas received $800K in cash from the Thunder in a separate deal that sent Isaiah Roby to Oklahoma City in exchange for Justin Patton, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Patton was waived to open a roster spot for Cauley-Stein.
- Danny Green talked to ESPN’s Zach Lowe on The Lowe Post podcast this week about the Mavericks’ pursuit of him in free agency over the summer. Green signed a two-year, $30MM deal with the Lakers, but said if L.A. would have used that money to sign Kawhi Leonard, then Dallas would have been his next choice.
Nets Notes: Irving, Lineup Changes, Dinwiddie, Dudley
A year ago, Knicks fans were hoping Kyrie Irving would be part of a free agency coup that would turn the franchise around. Today marks their first chance to see him since his decision to sign with the cross-town Nets, writes Greg Joyce of The New York Post. Irving was sidelined with an injury during Brooklyn’s first trip to Madison Square Garden, and players expect a raucous setting for today’s game.
“The atmosphere has been crazy this whole week, so no question, it’s going to be a super-ecstatic atmosphere,” Taj Gibson said. “Hopefully we can match the same intensity and pull out a tough one.”
Even though Irving missed 27 games with a shoulder impingement, the Nets are eighth in the Eastern Conference playoff race, while the Knicks are headed for the lottery again. Irving’s 45-point outburst in last night’s win at Detroit is the latest reminder that he’s the type of impact player New York still doesn’t have.
There’s more this morning out of Brooklyn:
- Coach Kenny Atkinson juggled his lineup against the Pistons, helping the Nets break a five-game losing streak, notes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Defensive specialist Garrett Temple started in the backcourt next to Irving as Spencer Dinwiddie was used off the bench for the first time in more than two months. “I always talk to the coaches about it, but it was a little bit of a hunch. I thought we needed to shuffle some things up,” Atkinson said. “It had nothing to do with Spencer’s play, absolutely nothing. It was more can we get Spencer in that ballhandling role a little bit more, because we all know that’s where he’s great.”
- Dinwiddie tells Matt Schoch of The Detroit News that it’s no longer a big deal to play against the Pistons, who drafted him in 2014 but traded him to the Bulls after two seasons. “Honestly, I would rather see Wilson (Chandler) go out there and go get 40 because he’s from here,” Dinwiddie said. “It’s a bigger game for him than anyone else.”
- Jared Dudley wanted to stay with the Nets, but got tired of waiting for the team to make a commitment, relays Billy Reinhardt of NetsDaily. He wound up signing a one-year deal with the Lakers. “When I’m looking at how it’s going and all the guys are coming off the board, watching Jeff Green go to Utah and when I saw (Anthony) Tolliver signed with Portland, I was supposed to sign before Tolliver, there’s usually a pecking order,” Dudley recalled. “When I saw that, that’s when I started making my phone calls. Once L.A. offered me, Brooklyn offered, but by that time my mind was already — once LeBron (James) and (Anthony Davis) signed off on it — there was no turning back.”
Bulls Notes: Markkanen, Young, Valentine, White
Lauri Markkanen‘s latest injury not only damages the Bulls‘ hopes of reaching the playoffs, it prevents the organization from having clarity on an important long-term decision, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Markkanen will miss the next four-to-six weeks after doctors discovered an early stress reaction of his right pelvis during an MRI. It’s the latest blow to a depleted frontcourt that is already getting by without Wendell Carter Jr., Daniel Gafford and Otto Porter.
The injury figures to complicate offseason negotiations for Markkanen, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension. Johnson notes that because of injuries, Markkanen and Zach LaVine have played just 106 of a possible 210 games together since LaVine was acquired in a trade with Minnesota.
Short-term plans are for Thaddeus Young to move into the starting lineup at power forward, but Johnson argues that Chicago still needs to explore trade opportunities for Young prior to the February 6 deadline. Porter hopes to return after the All-Star break, while Markkanen’s prognosis would sideline him for 10 to 17 games.
There’s more tonight from Chicago:
- The Bulls need to find a taker for Denzel Valentine before the deadline, Johnson contends in a separate piece. Valentine has hardly seen any playing time this month after being productive while averaging 15.5 minutes per game in December. Coach Jim Boylen has been vague in his reasons for not using Valentine, who has fully recovered from reconstructive ankle surgery that forced him to miss all of last season. At least one team has expressed interest in Valentine, sources tell Johnson.
- Boylen won’t alter his way of doing things despite fan criticism and a poor win-loss record, relays Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley noted a lot of empty seats at United Center for Friday’s game with the Kings, but Boylen insists that support for him and the team hasn’t declined. “The fans have been great to me,’’ he said. “For the most part, they understand what we’re trying to do. There’s always going to be people that don’t like where it’s at or where it’s going. I can’t control any of that. All I can control is my attitude, my work, my connection to this team. That’s what I’m going to try and do.’’
- Markkanen’s injury probably won’t mean more minutes for rookie guard Coby White, Cowley adds in the same piece. Even though the Bulls might need more scoring, the focus for White will remain on development. “His plan won’t change much,’’ Boylen said. “He plays a different position than Markkanen. We’ll get Coby involved and keep developing him as a guard that can lead the team, but also score the ball. Keep pushing him to be a two-way player, which I think is really important for him.’’
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/25/20
Here are Saturday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the league:
- The Rockets recalled Chris Clemons from their Rio Grande Valley affiliate, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Clemons figures to see some playing time Monday at Utah when Russell Westbrook rests on the second night of a back-to-back.
- The Timberwolves recalled Jaylen Nowell from Iowa, the team announced on Twitter. Nowell is the leading scorer for the G League club at 21.0 points per game.
- The Knicks assigned Ignas Brazdeikis to their Westchester affiliate, according to the G League Transactions Log.
- The Jazz recalled Miye Oni from Salt Lake City, the G League Transactions Log states.