Tiger Woods has paid a moving tribute to basketball legend Kobe Bryant following the latter’s shock death in a helicopter crash.
Bryant, 41, and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna – a promising basketball player herself – were killed instantly along with seven others when their helicopter crashed near Los Angeles on Sunday morning.
“Ultimate toughness, ultimate competitor and one of the most shocking, tragic days that I’ve ever been a part of in a very quick span here … life is very fragile as we all know. You can be gone at any given time and we have to appreciate the moments that we have,” said Woods following the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open, where he finished T9.
Woods and Bryant were close friends, having started their careers at a similar time and going on to set new benchmarks for their respective sports.
“When he retired, we’d work out at Equinox together. I was always getting up early and he’d get up early, we’d work out. We really connected on the mental side of thigs, the prep, how much it takes to be prepared,” shared an emotional Woods, who is currently tied with Sam Snead for most PGA Tour wins at 82 titles.
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
“For me, I don’t have to react like he does, we can take our time … but you’ve still got to pay attention to the details and that’s what he did better than probably any other player in NBA history. He paid attention to the details, the little things. That’s where he and I really connected, because we’re very similar,” he added.
Over a 20-year career with the LA Lakers, Bryant won five NBA Championships and also claimed gold medals with Team USA in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.
