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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 23: Kyrie Irving # 11 of the Brooklyn Nets leads the offense in the … [+]
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Kyrie Irving wanted to honor Kobe Bryant as we approach the first anniversary of Bryant’s tragic death in a helicopter crash.
Before the Nets played Miami on Monday night, Irving wore a purple and gold No. 8 Lakers jersey at the Barclays Center.
“You know who was rocking tonight,” he said before adding 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the Nets’ 98-85 win.
Irving, who overlapped with Bryant for five years in the NBA, considered Kobe a mentor. In 2012, a year after becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, Irving made a famous video challenging Bryant to a one-on-one duel.
The night Bryant died a year ago, Irving was so emotionally distraught that he left Madison Square Garden and did not play the Knicks.
Three nights later, he played his first game after Bryant’s death against the Pistons in Brooklyn.
“On the court, I’m not the only one suffering,” Irving said at the time.
“I don’t want to do this about myself and just our relationship because we all share something very, very strong with him.”
In December 2019, when Bryant was at the Barclays Center, Irving arranged for players from his alma mater, The Patrick School, to meet Kobe during a Nets-Hawks game.
Among the players who met Bryant that night was Patrick School star Jonathan Kuminga, who is now chosen by the NBA lottery with the G League Ignite team.
