Akbar Gbaja-Biamila shares a heartfelt story about Kobe Bryant

Akbar Gbaja-Biamila didn’t have a personal relationship with Kobe Bryant but had a heartfelt way story to remember him.

When news of Kobe Bryant’s death spread on Sunday, it seemed as though a collective sense of shock rippled through social media. As the world slowly begins to process the death of someone most of us didn’t know personally but still felt like we did, stories of Kobe’s post-career jovialness for life are serving as a somber light in the darkness.

American Ninja Warrior host Gbaja-Biamila spoke with FanSided’s Mark Carman to both share a Kobe story and also relate to the sense of loss everyone is still feeling. After losing his mother in a car accident, Gbaja-Biamila says that every time he passed the type of car his mother had, he instinctually looked in the driver’s side window hoping that it was her.

“When [a death] happens so sudden like that, the brain can’t process it.”

In August of this year, Gbaja-Biamila was with his nephews trying to find time on a basketball court. The court they ended up choosing happened to be occupied by Kobe and Gianna Bryant, who were practicing with their youth team. Gbaja-Biamila says that Kobe noticed they were sitting there, approached him and instantly began talking to him like they were life-long friends.

“I’ll never forget that and I know my nephews will never forget that.”

Akbar Gbaja-Biamila spoke on behalf of Experian.