LOS ANGELES — DeMar DeRozan always feels the impact of Kobe Bryant when he’s playing basketball.
Each game serves as a reminder of Bryant’s influence on the NBA and on DeRozan. However, being in Los Angeles around the time of Bryant’s passing kept the star's memory a top priority for DeRozan this week.
Friday marked the fourth anniversary of Bryant’s passing in a helicopter accident in Calabasas, California, a tragedy that deeply affected the league in 2020. Following a loss to the Lakers on Thursday, DeRozan reflected on what Bryant meant to him as a player and individual.
“From when he entered the league to his final game, everything about him motivated me to become a basketball player,” DeRozan remarked. “He was my favorite player while I was growing up, my mentor, someone I admired, and someone I could seek advice from. For me, Kobe was everything.”
Growing up in Los Angeles during the 1990s, it was impossible to ignore the impact of the Lakers and Bryant. DeRozan looked up to Bryant during his youth at Compton High School. As a teenager, he attended Bryant’s camps and received a pair of the star’s shoes during high school.
When DeRozan joined the league in 2009 at the age of 20, his relationship with Bryant, who was 31 at the time, changed from idol to mentor. Bryant imparted his unique work ethic to DeRozan during off-season training sessions, laying the foundation for the rigorous workouts that DeRozan now puts young Bulls players through in Los Angeles every summer. They competed against each other for seven years before Bryant retired in 2016.
Even today, DeRozan exclusively wears Bryant’s shoe line during games — a small tribute to his mentor’s influence on his career.
Players, coaches, and fans across the NBA and WNBA shared memories of Bryant, his daughter Gigi, and the other victims of the helicopter accident on Friday.
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