Oregon point guard Sabrina Ionescu looked up with tears in her eyes and made the sign of the cross at center court before facing Oregon State on Sunday.
The women’s college basketball star had learned just an hour before tipoff that NBA legend Kobe Bryant, someone she had developed a strong friendship with over her four years playing for Oregon, tragically died in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.
Ionescu, 22, went on to register a team-high 19 points in No. 4 Oregon’s 66-57 win over No. 7 Oregon State and after the victory she announced that the rest of her senior season will be played in honor of Bryant.
“Everything I do, I do it for him,” Ionescu told ESPN in on-court television interview. “[He was a] really close friend. And this season’s for him.”
Bryant, who died at the age of 41, had become an admirer of Ionescu and often praised her game. He became a regular attendee of Oregon women’s games in Southern California, one time speaking to the whole locker room after a game at USC last January.
He would also occasionally bring his daughter to the games and once invited her entire club basketball team to watch as well.
Most will remember when Bryant tweeted at Ionescu with the goat emoji following her 37-point performance on Jan. 16 against Stanford. Bryant had developed relationships with several players on Oregon, but anyone could see that his friendship with Ionescu was different.
“This was a tough day,” Ducks coach Kelly Graves said following the win. “As many of you know, Kobe was actually a close personal friend with Sabrina. They struck up a friendship over the last couple of years — with Kobe and his family. They’re communicating several times a week. They’re friends, and so I know it was really hard on her.
“To see her go out and her teammates battle for her and play the way — with the kind of spirit and enthusiasm that Kobe Bryant always played the game — was an incredible testament to a championship-character filled team.”
Graves said Ionescu and Bryant were regularly in contact.
“It’s like losing a family member [for Ionescu],” the coach said.
Bryant’s analysis of Ionescu’s game on his ESPN+ show “Detail” was cited by Ionescu, the 2019 Player of the Year, in her Players Tribune letter detailing her decision to forego the WNBA draft last year and return to Oregon for her senior season.
Ionescu did not participate in the majority of Oregon’s warm-ups Sunday and did not speak further to the media following the victory, according to ESPN. Ionescu went on to play all 40 minutes, and Graves said Ionescu never considered sitting out.
“You don’t know Sabrina that well,” Graves said. “No, she wouldn’t have done that. Maybe there as a moment she may have thought about it. But I think she would have thought Kobe wouldn’t have. He would have played. Because he was maybe the best, most intense player we’ve ever seen.”
