Kobe Bryant Dead: Luka Doncic Shares Photo With Gianna, and Fans Are Emotional

Kobe Bryant made an impact on everyone he encountered, and first-time All-Star and Dallas Mavericks phenom, Luka Doncic, learned that firsthand. The two met in December when Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, sat courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers and Mavericks game. The tragic deaths of Bryant and Gianna, who were among nine fatalities in a helicopter crash on Sunday, left Doncic feeling empty. He shared an image the two took following their meeting, captioning the photo, “This is so sad.”

Followers were quick to get emotional seeing Doncic post the photo with Gianna.

“Remember watching the interaction with you and Kobe after the Laker game and the respect shown was so amazing,” one tweet read. “He wanted his daughter to take this picture with you. So sad, really sad.”

Following that game, Doncic shared how Bryant was trash talking him from the sidelines. Except, it wasn’t in English as Bryant did his homework and did so in Doncic’s native language, Slovenian.

“He was talking Slovenian,” Doncic said afterwards. “He was talking my language. I was really surprised.”

A user commented, “I remember when kobe started talking luka language court side and it was so cool to see luka reaction.”

Bryant’s legacy has been felt all across the landscape. During the opening of the Grammy Awards, Alicia Keys was joined by Philadelphia band, Boyz II Men, when she delivered a powerful monologue about the international star.

“We are all standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built,” Keys said in reference to the Grammy’s being held in the Lakers home, the Staples Center. His jersey was also spotlighted as it hung in the rafters.

Prior to the event, crowds formed outside as mourners took the arena to pay their respects to Bryant. This came despite the urging of local officials attempting to get the crowd to go elsewhere as traffic became a major concern with the award show taking place.

Bryant’s longtime star teammate, Shaquille O’Neal, expressed his sorrow with an emotional social media post where he described the “sick” feeling he was having.

“There’s no words to express the pain Im going through with this tragedy of loosing my [niece] Gigi & my brother [Kobe Bryant] I love u and u will be missed,” O’Neal tweeted. “My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW.”

Photo credit: Getty Images