Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul Post Statements on Instagram Honoring Kobe Bryant

Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony and Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Chris Paul posted Instagram tributes honoring Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, who were killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday along with seven others. 

"This pain is almost unbearable Champ!" Anthony wrote, in part. "Why you bro? Why GiGi? Why leave Vanessa with this Sadness and Pain. WHY? This will never make sense to me.

"I know I'm not suppose to question GODs Will. I know GOD doesn't make mistakes. It just seems like It always rains the hardest on those who deserve the sun."

Paul ended his tribute as follows:

"The love you had for the game was nowhere near the love you had for YOUR girls!! All 5 of them!! [...] As I've watched you in retirement, as happy as you've ever been, I've sat back and prayed and hoped that my baby girl will look at me the way Gigi looks at you!!! I Love You and will miss you with all my heart my brother!!! All my love to Vanessa and all the families during this time 🙏🏾#Mamba4Life #Mambacita."

Anthony and Paul competed for over a decade each against Bryant in the NBA, but all three men were teammates on the 2008 and 2012 Unites States gold medal-winning Olympic teams.

The history between the three dates to the mid-2000s.

Anthony was picked third overall in the 2003 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets, and Paul became a member of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets two years later. Bryant played for the Lakers from 1996-2016.

The three were teammates on Western Conference All-Star teams in the latter half of the 2000s, but they frequently faced off against each other in the regular season.

In addition, Bryant's Lakers notably beat Anthony's Nuggets in the 2009 Western Conference Finals in six games en route to an NBA title. Two years later, L.A. defeated Paul's Hornets in the first round.

Paul and Bryant were nearly teammates on the Lakers, but then-commissioner David Stern vetoed a trade that would have put the point guard in purple and gold. 

Instead, Paul and Bryant became crosstown rivals in the early-to-mid 2010s with the floor general becoming an L.A. Clipper.

Kobe and Gianna Bryant died while traveling to Gianna's travel basketball game at the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, California.

John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah and Payton Chester, Christina Mauser and Ara Zobayan also died in the crash. Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester both played on Gianna's team, which Bryant coached.

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Former Los Angeles Times sports columnist turned Director of Sports Journalism at Northwestern University, J.A. Adande, returns to “The Full 48 with Howard Beck” to pay tribute to the late, great Kobe Bryant with personal stories and recollections from his years covering the legendary basketball player both on and off the court.