BURBANK, Calif. — As long as Sean Michael King has been alive, Kobe Bryant was there, a towering figure in his world and the world of the sport.  When he first heard the news Sunday, he couldn’t believe his idol was gone.

“Being 22 [years old], this is one of the very first deaths that we had that was someone like an idol to us that we grew up watching," King said. "This is first time I actually cried for a celebrity death.”

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King is a coach with Breakthrough Sports. Every Sunday night, he can be found at Burbank’s McCambridge Rec Center, running the basketball Training Academy. But this Sunday, he headed to practice with a heavy heart.

“On the way here, there were a couple of tears shed," he admitted, "but the one thing I loved about Kobe is that no matter what he was dealing in his personal life, once he was on the basketball court the only thing that mattered was that orange basketball and that orange rim.”

Growing up, King says Bryant was a household name. Among his friends, he was a constant presence, synonymous with the sport.

“Everyone that shot a paper ball in the trashcan, everyone always yelled out 'Kobe!'” he said.  

At the start of practice Sunday night, King explained to his young players what Bryant meant to him. “So the same way some of you might feel about Stephen Curry or Lebron James, that was our guy.”

He then led them in a moment of silence.  

After that, practice went on as planned because, he told his players, that’s what Bryant would have done.

“We’re still going to have our best, most important day," he told them, "because I feel like the best way to honor someone like him is to show it by work ethic on the court.”

Working through his grief, honoring his hero, focusing, as Bryant did, on that orange basketball and that orange rim.