Frank Vogel Says Lakers 'Want to Represent' Kobe Bryant, 'Make Him Proud'

In his first meeting with reporters since the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel said the team wants to make Bryant proud the remainder of the season.

"We want to represent what Kobe was about, more than anything. We've always wanted to make him proud, and that's not going to be any different here," Vogel said Wednesday.

Vogel said the team has done activities that have been "therapeutically beneficial" in the wake of the death of Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others in a helicopter crash Sunday. No players were made available to the media on Wednesday.

"We've become a family in a very short time. It's something you talk about in the NBA with your teams, but this group, in particular, has really grown to love each other very rapidly," Vogel said of the team. "We understand the importance and the opportunity we have this year. This has just brought us closer together."

Vogel also credited LeBron James and Anthony Davis for their leadership over the last few days. He said it's been a collaborative process, with Vogel taking their advice on how to handle the locker room's grieving process. 

"They've been vocal in terms of just helping the group manage their emotions and get through this," Vogel said.

Player comments have thus far been limited to social media posts. James released a statement on Instagram saying he is "heartbroken and devastated." Bryant died the day after James passed him for third on the all-time scoring list.

Davis credited Bryant as the "first guy to put me under your wing and show me the ins and outs of the league."

When asked what Bryant meant to the league over his two decades in the NBA, Vogel succinctly described the influence of perhaps the greatest player of his era. 

"He was the most feared man in the league for an entire generation," Vogel said of Bryant. "The influence is profound leaguewide, basketball community-wide, worldwide, Lakers family wide. His influence will be felt forever."