CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Julius Randle “worshipped the ground (Kobe Bryant) walked on,” from his childhood idolization to their forging of a relationship during and after they were teammates with the Lakers.

The Knicks forward was visibly emotional playing Sunday against Brooklyn, hours after the basketball legend died alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others in a helicopter crash in Southern California.

Randle spoke publicly for the first time since the tragedy Tuesday morning, ahead of the Knicks’ game against the Hornets at Spectrum Arena.

“For me, man, he was everything, bro,” Randle said after the Knicks’ morning shootaround. “That was my childhood hero growing up. So it’s a very unfortunate situation for me, but I can’t imagine what his family is going through, all the families that are involved. So my prayers are with them. He’s a mamba, so it’s everything.”

The 25-year-old Randle has posted childhood photos of himself wearing Bryant’s No. 8, one of two numbers (with 24) that have been retired in his honor by the Lakers.

Randle was drafted by Los Angeles out of Kentucky with the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and played two seasons with Bryant, who dubbed himself The Black Mamba during his 20-year playing career. He remembered Kobe as an “open book” who regularly offered advice on “so much more” than basketball.

“That meant everything to me. Just to know that anytime I could text him or call him, he’ll pick up the phone,” Randle said. “He’s like a big brother for me. For me, like I said, it was everything because I grew up idolizing him. You can’t say anything bad about him. I worship the ground that he walked on. To be able to be in LA and establish a relationship with him was amazing for me.”

Nets star Kyrie Irving was too distraught to play Sunday and departed the Garden before tipoff, while Knicks forward Marcus Morris said afterward that he didn’t think the game should have been played.

Randle, wearing the messages “GOAT 24 Rest easy bro” and “Legends Live Forever 8” on his sneakers, scored 22 points with 15 rebounds in the Knicks’ 110-97 win over the Nets. Randle missed two games earlier this month due to the death of his grandmother.

“I don’t know, man. It was tough for me, honestly,” Randle said. “Dealing with it, honestly, it’s been a rough month, my grandmother and this. It’s been tough. Tough to honestly find the motivation to play. Honestly, everything I did was because of him. He really set the bar for me. It’s been a tough go, for sure.

“I don’t know when I’ll be able to come to peace with it. Right now I’m not. It’s still not really reality for me. It’s not about me, man. It’s about those families. I feel bad for those families. That’s really what it is for me.”

The Texas native added that he had plans to visit Bryant when the Knicks were in Los Angeles earlier this month, but they were unable to meet due to scheduling conflicts.

Randle often has cited Bryant talking to him about the importance of fatherhood and other off-court topics. He married his wife Kendra when he was 22 and has a tattoo of an image of their 3-year-old son, Kyden, on his arm.

“I’ve got so many stories I could tell, so many things I learned from him,” Randle said. “You grow up idolizing somebody, you don’t really know what to expect when you first meet him. It was everything I expected and more. It’s crazy.

“The GM here (in Charlotte), Mitch Kupchak, was my GM in LA. He always used to tell me, watch everything that (Kobe) does. That’s exactly what I did. I watched his every move. I could go on forever what I can take from him and learn from him. For me, I’m just going to – just pray for his family. It’s not about me. He has three beautiful daughters that he has, a lovely caring wife. There are a bunch of families involved for such a tragic, tragic thing.”

For more on the Kobe Bryant tragedy, listen to the latest episode of the “Big Apple Buckets” podcast: