PHOENIX – Thursday was the three-year anniversary of the helicopter crash that killed Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar
guard Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gigi, and seven others.
At the time of their death, Jason Kidd – now coach of the Mavericks – was an assistant coach with the Lakers. Reliving that horrific day, Kidd said, is rough.
“It was a tough day,” Kidd said prior to Thursday’s 99-95 victory over the Phoenix Suns. “We had played the night before in Philly, so on the plane ride home that next day, to hear that news of what happened of the accident you didn’t want to believe it. But you found out that it was true.
“For the people who are affected – just not Kobe, but the other families and friends — it’s a sad thing.”
Suns coach Monty Williams said the news also hit hard with him, particularly since his team was in Memphis and a few hours after hearing of Bryant’s death, they had to play the Grizzlies.
“It was one of the tougher NBA days I’ve ever had,” Williams said. “Hearing the news on the way to the game, I wasn’t quite sure if it was credible or not.
“The more your phone started to blow up, you started to hear this was the real deal — it really bothered everybody. To have to go in the locker room and look at the faces of our guys that were crying before a game. . .We always talk about putting basketball in its place, but it’s always 
been in the right place in our locker room. We understand people and humanity. To lose somebody like that, regardless of whether or not it was a game day or a non-game day, it was just a hard day.”
A hard day Williams wish would have never happened.
“I didn’t even realize it until I was watching TV today and I saw that this was the anniversary, and it took me right back to Memphis when I got the news,” Williams said. “I can talk a lot about that, but I think about his family and I think about his wife and those beautiful kids, and I just pray that they are in a good place. It’s a tough thing to deal with.”
Williams dealt with his own tragedy on Feb. 10, 2016 after his wife, Ingrid, was killed when a driver crossed lanes and hit her car in a head-on collision near downtown Oklahoma City. At the time, Williams was an assistant head coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Relating his own personal tragic loss to that of Bryant’s widow – Vanessa Bryant – Williams said: “For me, I just thought about his wife and those kids. I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to get that news, so there was a number of emotions in our locker room that day.
“It was a tough day, not just for the NBA family, but just people in general just because of what Kobe meant for so many people.”
Kidd agreed, saying: “(Bryant) did so much for this game. Not just for the NBA, but for the women’s game of putting the light on with his
daughter being involved in basketball.
“It’s amazing how fast time has gone. You say it’s three years, but there’s not a day that Kobe isn’t talked about or missed, and that just shows you how powerful he was.”
BRIEFLY: Coach Jason Kidd said there is no timetable for the return of center Christian Wood. “I think it’s just week-to-week just to see how the healing goes,” Kidd said. “We’ll give you another update in a week just to see if there’s been any healing or improvement there.” Wood fractured his left thumb during a 130-122 loss to Atlanta on Jan. 18. Although he was able to finish that game and wound up with 22 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, Wood has since been sidelined. After Thursday’s 99-95 gut-check win over the Phoenix Suns, the Mavs are 2-2 without Wood . . . The Mavs shot 42.9 percent from the field in their win over the Suns, and held Phoenix to just 40.7 percent shooting. The Mavs also got to the free throw line 28 times – and made 20 – while the Suns were 12-of-16 from the stripe.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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