A mural depicting deceased NBA star Kobe Bryant, painted by Isaac Pelayo, is displayed on a building on February 16, 2020 in Burbank, California. Credit: Getty Images/Mario Tama
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Wayne Ellington was just two weeks into his only season with the Los Angeles Lakers in November 2014 when he lost his father to a shooting. He left the team to head home with his family to try to make sense of the loss.
Ellington wasn’t a star, already on his fifth team in a transient NBA career, and wasn’t a starter for the Lakers. But it was the star of the team, Kobe Bryant, who reached out to him and provided him with the helping hand to get back to the court.