'Keep growing the game and charting the path for the next,' the basketball legend wrote on Sunday.
Just one night before his tragic death, Kobe Bryant was cheering on fellow Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
On Saturday evening, James surpassed Bryant for the No. 3 spot on the NBA's all-time scoring list during his game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. James needed 18 points to beat out Bryant's career total of 33,643 points, and accomplished it with a running layup in the third quarter.
"It's just too much. It's too much. The story is too much," James told reporters of beating Bryant's record following the game, according to ESPN. "It doesn't make sense. Just to make a long story short, now I'm here in a Lakers uniform, in Philadelphia, where [Bryant's] from. The first time I ever met him, he gave me his shoes on All-Star Weekend. It's surreal. It doesn't make no sense, but the universe just puts things in your life. And I guess when you live in the right way, when you just give it everything to whatever you're doing, things happen organically."
"And it's not supposed to make sense, but it just happens. And I'm happy just to be in any conversation with Kobe Bean Bryant, one of the all-time greatest basketball players to ever play, one of the all-time greatest Lakers," he continued. "The man has two jerseys hanging up in Staples Center. It's just crazy."
Bryant took to Instagram at the time, sharing a photo of himself and James on the court. "On to #2 @kingjames!" he captioned the pic. "Keep growing the game and charting the path for the next. ??"
As ET previously reported, Bryant died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Sunday morning. He was 41.
Bryant is survived by his wife, Vanessa. The two share three children together -- Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months. Gianna, 13, was on board the helicopter with her dad, and also died. Full story here.
Hear more on the legendary basketball star in the video below.
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