Russell Westbrook Shares Emotional Tribute to Kobe Bryant on Instagram

NBA players have shared their own personal Kobe Bryant tributes throughout the week following the tragic death of the Lakers great. For some, it took longer than others to gather the strength and find the right words to pay respect to the Mamba.

Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook shared his own tribute late Friday night via an Instagram post, and it's truly touching.

View this post on Instagram

I’ve been stuck and not really knowing how to put all that I’ve been feeling into words over the past several days. I am devastated about the passing of Kobe & Gigi, on every level. I met Kobe when I was 16 at UCLA playing against him in a pick up game. He played like it was the NBA finals. From that point on, I decided that I wanted to emulate his Mamba mentality. At the time, there was no name for it, but I recognized in him what I always felt in myself. He became a friend, a brother, a mentor, a teacher, he defended me, he believed in me, and he taught me how to weather the storm. I can go on and on, but I want to thank you for being my idol, & inspiration. I will pray for you and your family everyday just as I do my own. I love you Kobe. My heart and prayers also go out to the other families involved in last weeks accident. #RIPKobe #RIPGigi

A post shared by Russell Westbrook (@russwest44) on Jan 31, 2020 at 10:55pm PST

He starts off by mentioning how he hadn't previously been able to find the words to describe his feelings throughout the past week due to his devastation over the loss of Kobe and his daughter Gianna.

Westbrook went on to share how Kobe was his idol, and it's clear to see why it was so hard for him to address the situation. Brodie certainly emulates aspects of Kobe's game into his own, particularly his ruthless mentality.

Kobe could pick any player in the NBA and he chose Russell Westbrook as having the most Mamba Mentality. You may not like Westbrook, or his game, but he's an alpha's alpha.
— Carson Cunningham (@KOCOCarson) January 26, 2020

Westbrook had earned Bryant's respect and has kept the "Mamba" style of play alive after Bryant's retirement.

The former MVP took his time and came up with a fitting tribute to the man who was always in his corner when others were not.