Kanye West Says Kobe Bryant Was One Of His Best Friends, Admits He Struggled Following The Laker’s Death

Kanye West is opening up about the way Kobe Bryant‘s death affected him. In a newly published interview with GQ, the rapper discussed Bryant’s legacy and how he felt in the days after Bryant died in a helicopter crash in late January.

Although the GQ interview is newly published, it was conducted just days after Bryant’s death. Despite showing up for the interview, West said he wasn’t doing well. The interviewer asked him why.

“Because Kobe was one of my best friends,” he said.

West also told the interviewer he and Bryant led very similar lives, which was part of the reason it was so hard for him.

“Everyone in our life is now a member of the Lakers on one of Kobe’s championship teams. The way that Kobe would say that we all have to come together and win this championship is the way I look at life now. To an infinite, other level. This is a game changer for me. He was the basketball version of me, and I was the rap version of him, and that’s facts!” West said.

He also said that, although neither one of them publicized their friendship, the two gradually grew closer after they starred in a series of Nike commercials together. West pointed to those commercials as proof the two were close. He sat courtside at a number of Lakers games and the two were often spotted together in Los Angeles.

In the aftermath of Bryant’s death, West said he was inspired to change the world. According to the rapper, the basketball player gave him the determination to treat every day like game day and to make a difference wherever he can.

“It’s game time. There’s no move that we can’t make, or that we’ll wait to make,” West continued.

When the Laker superstar died in January, it set off a wave of mourning. West was far from the only celebrity to discuss the way the player impacted their life. Posthumously, Bryant was also among those selected to be inducted into the 2020 class of the Basketball Hall of Fame, according to CNBC.

The former Los Angeles basketball star was one of nine inductees, each of whom will officially be added to the Hall of Fame in a ceremony in August. In a statement on Bryant’s induction, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss said Bryant was a “proven winner” who gave everything he could to basketball.