LeBron James, Anthony Davis Discuss Their Kobe Bryant Tattoos

James and Davis got tattoos honoring Bryant after he died in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people on Jan. 26

LeBron James and Anthony Davis got tattoos to honor Kobe Bryant last week after he died in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people on Jan. 26. 

At Lakers' shootaround Thursday, they explained for the first time why they chose to celebrate him in that way.  

"All my tats are something special," Davis said. "I don’t have any meaningless tats, so knowing how much Kobe meant to me, I felt like for me, the impact that he had on my life and my basketball career, I felt like it was only right for me to get a tattoo to remember him."

James echoed Davis, adding that he now has a constant reminder of the five-time NBA champion, whom he looked up to as a child. 

"Yeah, I mean just piggybacking on what he just said, you know everything that’s on my body means something personal to me," James said. "It’s the reason why I get them. Every time I look at my tattoos, it puts me back in the perspective of time, or the inspiration behind it."

Both Davis and James had a special relationship with Bryant. 

Davis credited Bryant for taking him under his wings when he first got into the league. Bryant respected Davis' curiosity and willingness to ask questions.

And James always deeply admired Bryant's game, recently saying he had "zero flaws offensively." He said it was a dream come true to play alongside Bryant at the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2012. 

The Lakers found out about Bryant's death as they were flying home on Jan. 26 after playing Philadelphia the night before. 

In that game against the 76ers, James passed Bryant for third on the all-time scorers list. Bryant called James to congratulate him on that accomplishment hours before the crash. 

Bryant's final tweet was about James.