Pre-game routines, something players and coaches are religious about were scrapped as soon as people learned one of the greatest players the game had ever known was no longer with us. It didn’t feel like, and it really wasn’t an afternoon to play another basketball game. It sounds reasonable until you hear the players struggle to explain just how tough it was to even take the court. The Raptors opened theirs but players who did not wish to speak on this very emotional day had those wishes respected. Whatever, just find a way to relate back to Kobe somehow, some way.”

Source: National Post January 27, 2020 22:07 UTC