Thursday 30 January 2020 10:05, UK
An emotional Kyrie Irving paid tribute to the late Kobe Bryant and resolved to carry the torch for the lessons taught to him by the NBA legend.
It has only been a few days, not nearly enough for the players who were close with Kobe Bryant to get over his death.
Unlike Sunday, Kyrie Irving was at least able to take his grief onto the basketball court.
"I could not even come up with wanting to play that game," Irving said. "It was so heartbreaking, and it still is. I am doing my best."
He scored 20 points in his return to the line-up on Wednesday night, Spencer Dinwiddie scored 28 points in his first game with his new jersey number, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Detroit Pistons 125-115.
Irving didn't play on Sunday at New York after learning of Bryant's death, and Dinwiddie, a Los Angeles native, was in tears after that game talking about what the Lakers star meant to him.
Dinwiddie changed his number from No 8, one of the numbers Bryant wore, to No 26 on Tuesday. He said he picked the number by adding his birthday, April 6, with his son Elijah's April 20.
Irving was friends with Bryant and appeared to be in tears during a pregame tribute to the superstar, when Bryant's numbers 8 and 24 were lit up on the court and on the overhead video screen that showed the long-time Lakers star's highlights.
The Nets left two seats open with flowers on them at Barclays Center in honour of Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who were among the nine people killed in a helicopter crash Sunday. The pair sat in those seats near Brooklyn's bench for a December 21 game against Atlanta. Gianna was a fan of the Hawks' Trae Young.
Follow the Nets' victory, an emotional Irving paid tribute to Bryant calling the late Lakers superstar a "philosopher" and "teacher".
"I'm trying to keep my emotions together. You have got to understand… his family and his friends… it is just hard to even conjure up the words. You try to find a clear-cut message that you would send to Gigi and Kobe and everybody that lost their lives in such a tragedy like that, it's hard," he said.
"I have been trying to do this the last few days, just trying to get ready for a moment like this, but I have got to let it be and let it flow. I know he is watching as well as Gigi, as well as the young ball players that were on the (helicopter) as well. I was just with them at the Mamba Academy, working out with them in the summertime, those young girls losing their lives."
"It is heartbreaking for all of us, but I am not the only one dealing with something. The most beautiful thing is that it is connecting all of us. (Kobe's) seeds he has planted in all of us will continue to grow and his legacy is going to live on forever.
"The man was a philosopher, he was a teacher, he left so many great things here for us to follow. I am going to continue to carry the torch."
