As the world navigates the difficult circumstances the coronavirus (COVID-19) has presented, the NBA continues to search for ways to safely resume the 2019-20 season.
Since March 11, the season was put on pause in the best interests of fans, arena workers, team personnel and players but the logistical puzzle of figuring out when and where games can be played has stumped league officials as the situation develops with each passing day.
The NBA is doing its best to ease fan anxiousness and boredom by making their NBA League Pass program free for all users until April 22 and they are currently working on creating a HORSE competition featuring several notable players.
For vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka, however, the hiatus has made him miss Kobe Bryant and their time together even more, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“I have to believe these hard things will be redeemed. That’s just the way I live because I think that in a time like this, a friend like Kobe is especially missed,” Pelinka said. “If you were on a night’s journey with him, and a huge, fire-breathing dragon ended up in the pathway ahead, he would say, ‘OK, this is why this is good right now. We’re going to meet this challenge, and here’s how we’re going to get around it, and here’s how we’re going to defeat it.'”
It has been a rollercoaster year for Pelinka and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers to say the least as they have had to power through the sudden death of Bryant back in January. Nearly three months later and his passing still weighs heavy on those who loved him.
Before becoming the Lakers general manager, Pelinka was best known as Bryant’s agent during his playing days but the two were also best friends and extremely close. That extra downtime has allowed him to reflect on Bryant’s passing and his friend would deal with these difficult times.
Pau Gasol also recently cited Bryant as a source of inspiration on how to get through the pandemic and for Lakers fans everywhere, it is another example of his lasting legacy and impact on the world. Bryant’s will and determination to overcome challenges that were set before him resonates with everyone as it is a mentality that people can adopt themselves — a much-needed thing given all that is currently going on.
