The rest of us got a damn poem, but Dwyane Wade heard the Kobe Bryant retirement news first-hand … in a cold tub.
Sideline reporter Rachel Nichols posted a great story Thursday night on Facebook of how it all went down in South Beach a few weeks ago:
Love the behind-the-scenes stories in the NBA – here’s the one Dwyane Wade told me earlier today about Kobe Bryant: This was last month, the night before the Miami Heat hosted the LA Lakers here in Miami. Wade decided to stop by the arena and get in a soak in the cold tub. He goes through the Heat’s locker room area, back over to the training room, and who is already just sitting there in the tub…Kobe Bryant.
Wade told me in the 13 years he’s played for the Heat, he’s never ever seen Pat Riley let an opposing player into the inner sanctum like that, using the team’s facilities, and that frankly, he was shocked. Of course, that’s the respect that Kobe has earned, and the two old friends had a great, long talk.
At the end of it, Kobe asked Dwyane if his sons were coming to the game the next night. Dwyane said no, as it was a school night, and Kobe said, “you know what, bring them, I think it’s going to be my last time here.” Dwyane brought the boys, they got a lifetime memory after the game taking pictures with Kobe, and the Wade family got a little sneak-preview of Kobe’s retirement announcement before anyone else.
TNT also ran an interview with The Black Mamba last night looking back at his long career, and what comes next.
.@TurnerSportsEJ sat down with a candid @kobebryant. Listen to the exclusive interview here.
https://t.co/I7XBPE5O3i
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 4, 2015
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