“A Person I Loved Dearly”: Lakers’ Jeanie Buss Sheds a Tear, Remembering Kobe Bryant

The Los Angeles Lakers triumphed over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. Coming out as Championships in 2020, their owner couldn’t have been happier. Behind all the celebrations and excitement, lay some personal losses for Jeanie Buss. Before the season resumed, Buss had to deal with tons of grief.

There is one loss that we all felt, and that is of Kobe Bryant. After a horrific helicopter accident, Kobe and his daughter passed away. The Lakers legend left a mark in the league and was an inspiration to millions. However, the Lakers franchise tried to do their part by dedicating all their wins to Bryant.

Buss and Bryant shared a very close bond. She even considers his family as her own, and it was very difficult for her to fathom his demise. It wasn’t easy for her to just be the owner of the Lakers and continue without him.

The Lakers were her support system

On ‘The Mike Wise Podcast’, Buss opened up about the people she lost this year. She talked fondly of her mother and how much of an emotional burden it was to lose her, along with David Stern and Kobe Bryant.

Although, she explained how the Lakers came together for one another during this hard time. “We came together like in periods of mourning and grief, you have to have community. You have to have people you can lean on because otherwise, you feel alone and isolated,” said Jeanie.

“When Kobe passed, you know he was a source of strength for me.” Buss reiterated one of her last conversations with him when he had called during her mother’s passing because “he wanted to check in on me.” 

“This was a person I loved dearly,” she stated. “The night before he passed away, LeBron broke one of his records and Kobe called him to congratulate him on passing his record. We just had this great synergy of Rob Pelinka as running our front office was Kobe’s best friend. We just had this strong group of people connected.”

Buss even revealed that she requested the league to postpone the next game because the news of Kobe’s death was taking a toll on the players and the staff. “The Clippers graciously agreed to postpone the game,” said Buss.

The news of his sudden death shook the entire world. We can’t even imagine what the people close to him must have gone through. Though it has been months, we still can’t fathom the loss of the man who made the league to what it is today.