VIDEO: Doc Rivers Breaks Down and Struggles to Find the Words Following Kobe Bryant's Passing

As the tributes pour in for all-time basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi after they shocking passed away in a helicopter accident Sunday in the Los Angeles area, it has become more or less impossible to keep it together. From the fans across the world to those who knew him best on the court and off, it's daunting and devastating to reckon with the emotional weight of the day's events. And perhaps no one has sounded more visibly devastated today than Doc Rivers, head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers.

It's hard to watch. It's hard to believe. It's just hard.

Rivers retired as a player just as Kobe entered the league, and coached against him with the Magic, Celtics, and Clippers. Few have been as up close and personal with the Black Mamba's greatness and indomitable will as Rivers, who went 1-1 against Kobe's Lakers in the NBA Finals during his tenure in Boston.

The tears are going to flow today. They're going to flow tomorrow. As Rivers has shown us in this painfully poignant moment, it should not be any other way.