MINNEAPOLIS — Photos of Kobe Bryant adoring his daughter Gigi heighten the heartbreak, knowing both died in the helicopter crash.
"I'm a parent. I couldn't' even begin to imagine what that felt like," said former NBA player and analyst Trent Tucker.
Tucker played basketball against Kobe's father Joe Bryant, then got to know Kobe chatting with him while Tucker was an NBA analyst.
"When the Wolves would go out to play the Lakers, before the games would start, he and I would kind of sit down and chat about different things, and he was very intrigued about Michael Jordan," said Tucker, who Kobe knew was a former teammate of Jordan. "And he was always picking my brain about how Michael did things, because he was trying to put himself in the position to be the best at some point in time."
Tucker respected Kobe's drive to become the best. And he was intrigued by what Kobe planned to do post-retirement.
"He was spending more time with his family. And he was beginning to embrace his second life," Tucker said.
A second life cut short. The former NBA superstar leaves behind hearts broken as well as happy memories of one of the best to play the game.
"Many of my friends have asked me how are you going to move forward, with this situation, I said the best thing for myself is to celebrate the life of Kobe Bryant," Tucker said.