Dwyane Wade Cries as He Mourns Kobe Bryant: 'One of the Saddest Days in My Lifetime'

Dwyane Wade Cries as He Mourns Kobe Bryant: 'One of the Saddest Days in My Lifetime'

Dwyane Wade shared his emotions with his fans on Sunday in the wake of Kobe Bryant‘s shocking death in a Calabasas, California, helicopter crash.

Sharing a series of videos on his Instagram Story, Wade, 38, cried and wiped away tears as he opened up about his friend and fellow NBA star’s death.

“Today is one of the saddest days in my lifetime,” Wade, 38, said. “It seems like a bad dream that you just wanna wake up from. It’s a nightmare.”

Continued the former Miami Heat player, who retired last year, “I know we’re all feeling the same way about such a great leader, just a great champion, a great person. If you got a chance to know Kobe, if you got a chance to really know Kobe, there ain’t nobody better, man.”

RELATED: Kobe Bryant Dies in Calabasas Helicopter Crash at 41

“Emotions are all over the place. These are the moments where you ask ‘Why?’ “

Wade interspersed the clips with footage of Bryant and himself.

Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant | Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty
Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant | Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty

“His daughter Gigi, this is a sad day. There’s no way around it,” Bryant later continued. “My family and I have been sharing Kobe stories. We have so many moments that he’s given us and we’re so thankful for those moments. I’m thankful for those moments, man … I got a chance to have a relationship, a friendship, and I’m going to miss the friendship.”

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The athlete also opened up about being inspired on the court by Bryant, admitting, “I wanted to be respected by him.”

He concluded the videos, “Kobe, thank you man, thank you for all the memories. And we got a lot of good ones. And these tears that we’re crying, we gonna miss you. And it’s not gonna go away. … We forever, forever miss you man. … Thank you for being my friend.”

Wade also shared a message on Twitter, posting a photo of Bryant and writing, “Heroes come and go LEGENDS live forever.” He also hashtagged Bryant’s two retired jersey numbers.

Bryant and his daughter Gianna were traveling in a private helicopter when it went down on Sunday morning.

Emergency personnel responded, but none of the nine people on board the aircraft survived, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said during a press conference on Sunday.