More than five years after Kobe Bryant‘s tragic passing, the heartbreak remains etched into the soul of the Los Angeles Lakers organization and its fanbase.
The events of that fateful day in January 2020 are still vivid for many, and for Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, the shock has never truly subsided. In a recent interview, she opened up about how the team, the city, and the NBA family tried to make sense of a loss that no one saw coming.
Grief is still lurking! Jeanie Buss opens up about Kobe’s tragic passing
“There is no single event in modern NBA history that compares to Kobe‘s passing,” Buss said. “When Kobe passed, we had a game the next day against the Clippers. And our organization was in such shock, we couldn’t function. We had to bring in grief counselors.”
The decision to postpone the game came quickly, but it wasn’t just the Lakers who needed time to grieve. Fans poured into the streets and gathered outside the arena, many of them not knowing where else to go.
“What I couldn’t get over was how our fans, they didn’t know where to go, and so they just went to the arena,” Buss recalled. “Everybody needed to be together.”
A moment that united the city under the Purple and Gold
For Jeanie Buss, that moment made one thing unmistakably clear: the Los Angeles Lakers are more than a basketball team-they are a family, a symbol of unity, and a shared identity for countless people.
“It was like we were lost, it was so hard to comprehend,” Buss continued. “I mean it’s still hard to accept, five years later. It just really struck me what the team means to the fans. This is our strength, this is what brings everybody together under the Purple and Gold umbrella.”
LeBron’s came to the fore
As fans and players alike struggled to cope, it was LeBron James who stepped up and offered the support the Lakers community so desperately needed.
Just days after the tragedy, during an emotional pregame ceremony, LeBron addressed the crowd with words that Jeanie Buss says perfectly captured the moment.
“LeBron addressed the crowd, he said, ‘I have big shoulders, let me carry you.’ Like climb onboard, we’re going to get through this together,” she recounted.
“For him to articulate all of what we were feeling and we needed to hear was beautiful.”