LeBron James: 'A day doesn't go by when I don't think about' Kobe Bryant

The entire world was shocked and saddened by the death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna back in January and LeBron James says that he still thinks about them every day.

"A day doesn’t go by when I don’t think about him," James said. "And a day doesn’t go by when our organization does not remember him and think about not only Kob’, but Gigi, Vanessa and the girls."

James and Bryant had a respectful rivalry during their time in the NBA together and that blossomed into a friendship, with the two consistently expressing their mutual admiration as players and people. The night before Bryant's death, LeBron passed him to become third on the all-time scoring list. Bryant called LeBron after the game to congratulate him on the achievement.

It turned out to be the last time the two would ever speak, as Bryant, Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash the following morning. LeBron learned of Bryant's while flying back from Philadelphia and was devastated by the news. On Instagram, LeBron talked about carrying on Bryant's legacy and even got a Black Mamba tattoo on his thigh.

With the season set to start again next week, it's clear that LeBron remains focused on honoring Bryant by winning another championship for the Los Angeles Lakers. It won't be an easy task, but the Lakers are in as good of a position as they can be, as they currently hold the top seed in the Western Conference. Regardless of what happens in Orlando, LeBron knows that Bryant and Gianna will be a part of the Lakers forever.

"They’re a part of this family, just as big as anybody in this organization’s history," LeBron said. "So, we still wear 2-4 and 8 and the No. 2 with pride and with remembrance of how great they were."