Inside Lakers’ flight back to LA as they learned of Kobe’s death and LeBron James led a team prayer 

The morning after overtaking Kobe Bryant for third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and receiving a congratulatory phone call from his retired former rival, Lakers star LeBron James found himself leading a spontaneous prayer circle on a team flight back to Los Angeles, he has revealed, attempting to make sense of the tragic helicopter crash that killed Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others last month.

‘It was just off the top off my head, just off the cuff,’ James told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin of the moment he learned about Bryant’s death on a cross-country flight back to LA. ‘I think it was needed for us to come together and just give thanks to the man above.

‘Even though at times we question him and question why he do some of the things that he do, know that he’s never made a mistake. And just hope that he has his hands on top of [Bryant’s wife] Vanessa and the kids at that time, and hope that he continues to watch over all of us. So, I don’t know, it wasn’t something I thought about. It was something that just kind of came to me, and I said my piece’.

Details have emerged from the Lakers’ flight home from Bryant’s native Philadelphia on the morning of January 26, when players began to learn of the fatal accident.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James reacts during the national anthem after a pre-game tribute to Kobe Bryant before playing the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center on January 31

The Lakers' team plane pictured after arriving in Los Angeles from Philadelphia on January 26 - the day Kobe Bryant died in a tragic helicopter accident

Lakers players embrace each other after getting off a team flight from Philadelphia and learning that Bryant had died in a helicopter accident

Lakers players embrace each other after learning that Kobe Bryant had died on January 26

Lebron James and Quinn Cook cry during the Los Angeles Lakers pregame ceremony to honor Kobe Bryant before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center on January 31

Lebron James and Quinn Cook cry during the Los Angeles Lakers pregame ceremony to honor Kobe Bryant before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center on January 31

Bryant had not played for the Lakers since his 60-point farewell performance in 2016, and his only former teammate on the current squad, Dwight Howard, was seven years removed from briefly playing with the man dubbed ‘Black Mamba’ during a previous stint in Los Angeles.

Likewise, Bryant had not worked with Lakers coach Frank Vogel or any of his assistants, such as NBA legend Jason Kidd or Lionel Hollins, himself a former head coach in Memphis and Brooklyn.

But although he had minimal professional experience with the current incarnation of the Lakers, Bryant’s memory consumed the team flight.

At first, players and coaches were in disbelief.

‘There was that uncomfortable time, feeling like, ‘This is a crazy report,” Vogel told ESPN. ‘Like, ‘This is not true. There’s no way.’ My expectation was to hear that it was a false report’.

LeBron James honored Kobe Bryant by writing 'Mamba 4 Life' on his sneakers after the crash

LeBron James honored Kobe Bryant by writing ‘Mamba 4 Life’ on his sneakers after the crash

Power forward Anthony Davis was watching a movie when Howard approached him.

‘Dwight tells me, “Man, Kobe died,”‘ Davis said. ‘And me thinking as invincible as Kobe Bryant is, I’m like, “Kobe who?” Because I’m like, that’s not — it’s not Kobe Bryant.

‘And he was like, “Kobe.” And I was like, “OK. Kobe who? I’m not sure who you’re talking about.” And he was like, “Kobe Bryant.” And at this time, Bron is still asleep. So I was like, “Wait, what? How? Like, I need details, like, tell me.” And he was like, “Man, helicopter crash.”‘

Davis immediately turned to wake up James, a longtime friend and former Olympic teammate of Bryant’s: ‘And I just like, start shaking Bron, like, ‘Wake up! Wake up!”

‘I remember the first thing Bron said to me was, “Man, y’all stop playin – like, stop playing with me,”‘ Davis continued. ‘And I’m trying to get on the internet. And Dwight, like, you can see him start crying. He was like, “It’s true.”‘

One by one, players log onto the plane’s wi-fi network to learn that Bryant’s helicopter had crashed in southern California that morning.

‘By this time, all the players have woken up,’ Davis said. ‘Everybody’s trying to get to the internet to get on their phone and see what’s going on. “Is it true?” Or, “What’s going on?”‘

LeBron James and Kobe Bryant won a pair of gold medals together on Team USA

LeBron James and Kobe Bryant won a pair of gold medals together on Team USA

Current Lakers center Dwight Howard played alongside Bryant during a previous stint in LA

Current Lakers center Dwight Howard played alongside Bryant during a previous stint in LA

Vogel took it upon himself to inform those who remained unaware of the tragedy, going up and down the rows delivering the bad news.

Many had already heard the news, but it was Vogel’s unfortunate duty to confirm it.

‘Everybody was crying,’ Davis told ESPN. ‘It was just like something that we didn’t believe, something that was shocking to all of us. Because Kobe, he’s touched so many, you know — players on this team, staff members. You know, Judy [Seto], his trainer; [Lakers general manager] Rob [Pelinka was his] agent; Robert Lara, security. He touched so many people.’

The plane then fell into what one passenger described to ESPN as a ‘suffocating silence’ before landing in Los Angeles, where the emotionally drained players were seen staggering off the plane.

James, himself, appeared to be crying as he made his way off the tarmac.

As Anthony Davis told ESPN, there was an urgency to get off the plane and see loved ones

As Anthony Davis told ESPN, there was an urgency to get off the plane and see loved ones 

‘We were just like, we just need to get off this plane,’ Davis told ESPN. ‘We just want to get off the plane. And be with your families and, you know, just get back home.’

Although James declined to say whether he attended Monday’s memorial service at Staples Center (he was not photographed at the event), James did deliver a heartfelt speech before the Lakers first game back at their home arena on January 31.

‘Kobe is a brother to me,’ James told the crowd while he and his teammates wore Lakers jerseys emblazoned with Bryant’s two jersey numbers, 8 and 24. ‘From the time I was in high school watching him from afar, to getting in this league at 18 and watching him up close, all the battles that we had throughout my career, the one thing that we always shared was that determination to just want to win, to just want to be great.

‘The fact that I’m here now means so much to me. I want to continue, along with my teammates, his legacy. Not only for this year, but for as long as we can play this game of basketball that we love, because that’s what Kobe Bryant would want. So in the words of Kobe Bryant, Mamba out. But in the words of us, not forgotten. Live on, brother.’ 

Although James declined to say whether he attended Monday's memorial service at Staples Center (he was not photographed at the event), James did deliver a heartfelt speech before the Lakers first game back at their home arena on January 31

Although James declined to say whether he attended Monday’s memorial service at Staples Center (he was not photographed at the event), James did deliver a heartfelt speech before the Lakers first game back at their home arena on January 31

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