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The last communication between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant

He still has the final text message saved on his phone.

Michael Jordan retrieves it from time to time, even though it refreshes his grief, triggers the urge to wonder all over again, as so many others have, "Why?"

Almost sixteen months after the death of Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and six other companions as well as the pilot in a helicopter crash, it remains agonizing to process. Jordan, who was Kobe's mentor, confidant and friend, has been mulling over how to put Bryant's life into context because he will be inducting him into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday.