.The untimely demise of Kobe Bryant hit the whole NBA world hard. Fans, players, and broadcasters, all were shocked to hear about the death of Kobe and his daughter Gianna Bryant. Almost every team in the league paid their respects to Kobe and Gianna by running out the 24-second shot clock on the first possession.

Kobe’s former team, the Los Angeles Lakers held a ceremony for the Lakers legend after his passing before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Kobe was a dear friend to many, a mentor to quite a few, and an idol to millions of people out there.

The impact of Kobe Bryant

Multiple celebrities and NBA legends spoke at the five-time NBA champion’s event ‘ A Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant,’ held by the Los Angeles Lakers. Recently, former NBA player Matt Barnes sat down with DJ Vlad.

While appearing on his YouTube show, he talked about how the passing of Kobe impacted him. He ended up showing a tattoo of Kobe and Gianna he got done after their demise. And Barnes could be seen struggling to hold back tears.

Matt Barnes played 14 seasons in the NBA, where in he played two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, alongside Kobe Bryant. Barnes and Kobe had a bit of a history back in the day. It got highlighted once when Barnes pump-faked passing the ball right in Kobe’s face.

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Kobe did not even flinch. However, the two were able to put that behind them and play alongside each other. While talking to Vlad on the show, Barnes seemed as if he was still unable to fully come to terms with the fact that Kobe was gone.

He said, “It’s hard to swallow man and my heart goes out to everyone in this situation.”

“For Vanessa and the girls to his mom and dad and his sister that’s just, it’s unexpected, it’s scary,” he added fighting back tears.

How Kobe and Barnes came together to play

Barnes and Bryant only played with each other for two years. But the two had formed a camaraderie in that brief period of time. In fact, Barnes’ history with the Laker legend is what pushed Kobe to play with him. 

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In an interview on ‘All The Smoke,’ Barnes once told what Kobe had said. He said, “Anyone crazy enough to f**k with me is crazy enough to play with me.” Kobe truly was a different breed altogether and is still missed dearly to this day.