LOS ANGELES – Athletes are frequently praised for their incredible competitive feats or the toughness they show on a basketball court, but that pales in comparison to the strength Alvin Gentry witnessed inside an NBA arena on Monday.
New Orleans’ fifth-year head coach – who joined Pelicans staff members Monday in attending a memorial service at Staples Center for Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant – was deeply impacted by the message from Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s wife. Gentry compared Vanessa’s words to that of a February 2016 eulogy given by Gentry’s New Orleans predecessor, Monty Williams, at a funeral for Williams’ wife Ingrid.