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The effect Kobe Bryant had on so many people around the NBA has been very clear in the aftermath of his sudden death.
Bryant and his daughter Gianna were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles on Sunday. Countless players and figures around the league have since remembered the impact Bryant had on their lives.
Radio.com contributor Kendrick Perkins joined Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts on WFAN on Monday to discuss how Bryant’s passing is affecting his own life. Perkins told the guys about wanting to squash his beef with Kevin Durant, as it’s not important in the larger picture of life.
“I listened to Jay Will (Jason Williams) on ESPN, and he’s like ‘if you got some loved ones, it ain’t even worth it’ and it made me think about KD (Durant),” said Perkins. “And it made me think about the relationship and the millions of great times that we spent together, the one on ones that we had, the countless conversations that we had on the phone until 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning, just talking about life in general, to all of a sudden, a BS Twitter beef about basketball that shouldn’t have even transpired. Whether I was right, or he was right, or whoever was wrong in the situation, I didn’t care. I played a part in it.”
Perkins is referring to a tweet he sent on Sunday after hearing about the tragic accident in Calabasas. Durant and Perkins had recently argued on Twitter after Perkins said Russell Westbrook was the greatest player in Thunder history and was “Mr. Thunder.”
Mike Lawrie/Getty Images Perkins added that he did this in public because he wanted the world to see how important it is to net let petty squabbles get in the way of relationships.
“At that time, I could have easily called him or texted him that, but I wanted the world to see, for the simple fact that we started a beef on Twitter, and I wanted the world to see that I’m going to end this beef. I’m going to do my part because my brotherhood and my relationship with Kevin is far more valuable, because I don’t know if either one of us will see tomorrow, because life is not promised.”
The NBA has received some criticism for not canceling the games on Sunday, but Perkins doesn’t agree with those critics.
“Kobe would’ve wanted everybody to go out there and play those games, and leave it all out on the court. So that’s my motto ‘what would Kobe do?’ And Kobe would’ve wanted the NBA to continue. Kobe would’ve been upset for games to get cancelled.”