James walked onto center court toward the end of the Lakers' tribute to Bryant and read all nine names of the victims in Sunday's helicopter crash. Then, he crumpled up a speech he'd prepared and said he would prefer to speak from the heart.
LeBron James made his first public comments about close friend and former Olympic teammate Kobe Bryant on Friday night before the Lakers played their first game since Bryant's death.
“The first thing that comes to mind,” James said, “is all about family. As I look all around this arena, we’re all grieving, we’re all hurting, we’re all heartbroken. But when we’re going through things like this, the best thing you can do is lean on the shoulders of your family and from Sunday morning all the way until the point – I had heard about Laker Nation before I got here last year about how much of a family it is – and that is absolutely what I’ve seen this whole week.
“Now, I know at some point we will have a memorial for Kobe. I look at this as a celebration tonight.
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