Mavs Legend Dirk on Kobe Bryant's Death: 'I'll Never Get Over It'

Dirk Nowitzki, the retired Mavs icon, says Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant is the best player of their generation - And that he's struggling with the thought of Kobe's death.

DALLAS - The death of Kobe Bryant in the tragic helicopter crash in California that also took the lives of Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter and seven other passengers continues to leave millions grieving.

Dirk Nowitzki is among those affected, saying, “It’s so sad. It’s something I don’t think I’ll ever get over.”

All-NBA performer and 2007 NBA MVP Nowitzki had a friendly rivalry, of course, with the Los Angeles Lakers great Bryant, who Dirk says is the best player of his time - a time that spanned 21 seasons.

“He was the Michael Jordan of our generation,” Nowitzki said of Bryant. “He was our best player,” per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.

Nowitzki was a 12-time All-Star, an MVP and a champion who spend his entire career in one place. and Bryant spent all 20 seasons of his career with the Lakers, becoming a five-time NBA champion, 18-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA team member and two-time NBA MVP. The occasional endorsement of Dirk by Kobe meant a great deal to MFFLs, and probably to Dirk, too.

"I can honestly say there hasn’t been a single minute of any day that I haven’t thought about it,'' said Dirk, who was among the Mavs figures consulted by team owner Mark Cuban as the franchise chose to honor Bryant by "retiring'' his jersey No. 24 in Dallas.