"I was all in my head" - Kyrie Irving opens doors to his true emotions after visiting Kobe and Gianna Bryant's statue

Nearly four hours before tipoff, Dallas Mavericks' Kyrie Irving considered it important to fulfill a pre-game routine that didn’t involve any shooting, passing, or conditioning drills.

Instead, Irving visited Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s statue outside of Crypto.com Arena before the Dallas Mavericks played the Los Angeles Lakers.

"It meant everything to me, man," Irving said following the Lakers’ 107-99 win over the Mavericks on Tuesday. "It meant everything to me. I needed that before the game."

The Mavericks played the Lakers in LA for the first time since the Lakers unveiled both the Kobe-Gianna statue on Aug. 3, 2024, and Kobe’s No. 8 statue on Feb. 8, 2024. Still, the Mavericks visited LA for a pre-season game against the Clippers at Intuit Dome in Inglewood on Oct. 14. Dallas also practiced in LA the day beforehand, theoretically giving Irving time to see either statue.

"I don’t know if anybody in here has ever dealt with that avoiding feeling, avoiding things that are going to be painful or hurt you and it’s going to be best for you at the same time," Kyrie Irving said.

"That was one of those things. I hadn’t been to the statue just because I was all in my head, all of my emotions these last few times we’ve come here."

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Kyrie Irving's dynamic with Kobe Bryant

Shortly after learning that 41-year-old Kobe and 13-year-old Gianna were among nine passengers who died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020, the Brooklyn Nets supported Kyrie Irving’s decision to leave Madison Square Garden before their game against the New York Knicks. Irving was among many NBA stars who considered Bryant a mentor and an idol.

After winning the NBA’s Rookie of the Year following his first season with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2011-12), Irving landed on the USA’s select team and practiced with the U.S. Men’s Olympic Team before the London Games. That’s when Irving infamously challenged Bryant to a game of one-on-one. The moment amused Kobe, who playfully chastised Irving for challenging him.

During his final NBA season in the 2015-16 campaign, Kobe publicly and privately encouraged Irving to become more assertive and even confrontational with his leadership approach.

Irving then shared that Bryant Facetimed him shortly after the Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 Finals after overcoming a 3-1 series deficit. After Bryant’s retirement, Irving often trained at Kobe’s former sports training academy in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Since then, Irving has often talked openly about Kobe and shared condolences to his wife (Vanessa) and three other daughters (Natalya, Bianka, and Capri). But it wasn’t until Tuesday that Irving visited Kobe and Gianna’s statue.

Kyrie Irving sat on a cemented platform and read a plaque that described Kobe as a “proud supporter of women in sports” and Gianna as an “inspirational icon for girls in sports.” The plaque also quotes Kobe saying, “Gianna is a beast. She’s better than I was at her age. She’s got it. Girls are amazing. I would have five more girls if I could. I’m a girl dad.”

"I needed that before the game just for my own peace of mind as I move forward in my healing journey,” Kyrie Irving said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had to face something like that. I was sitting there before the game. It probably wasn’t ideal timing.

"But I know I needed to do it. So I’m grateful, man, especially as God watches over me and Gigi and Kobe and a lot of my ancestors are watching over me. So I’m grateful. I don’t take those moments for granted."

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.