Detroit — Like most sports fans, the Pistons players got the news about Kobe Bryant’s untimely death on Sunday with shock, horror and disbelief.
Many of them doubted the news and considered it a hoax and looked to verify it before the reality eventually sunk in.
“Fake news,” Pistons guard Reggie Jackson said of his initial thoughts upon hearing of the helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif.
Blake Griffin said the hardest part came later in the day, when the time came to put Bryant’s death in perspective and to process it.