Carmelo Anthony reveals his final call to Kobe Bryant was about coaching Gianna

Carmelo Anthony has revealed the details of his final conversation with Kobe Bryant, during which the pair discussed the former LA Lakers star coaching his daughter.

Bryant and 13-year-old Gianna were both killed, along with seven other people, following a tragic helicopter crash on Sunday.

The Lakers are scheduled to play their first game since the death of their former star against Anthony’s Portland Trail Blazer’s on Friday night, but the 35-year-old, himself an NBA legend, is reportedly likely to miss the match due to ‘personal reasons’.

Earlier this week, in an emotional Instagram post, Anthony revealed Bryant was due to attend the match at the Staples Center.

‘You just called me and told me you were coming to the game Friday and that you were proud of me and regardless of anything and stay true to myself,’ he wrote.

‘We were just laughing about how hard YOU was working GiGi and her teammates and I told YOU they need a day off.

‘Why you bro? Why GiGi? Why leave Vanessa with this Sadness and Pain. WHY? This will never make sense to me.’

Ahead of Friday’s match, meanwhile, Lakers coach Frank Vogel spoke about the difficulty he has faced this week, attempting to prepare his team ahead of what is sure to be a highly emotional occasion.

He said: ‘We are respecting the balance of trying to make guys feel good – laughter is always a good remedy for something like this when it’s appropriate.

‘We’ve had stuff like that. Today’s workout outside, it’s not the first time we’ve done that. But it does feel good to be out there. Just a change-up.

‘It was really just a warm-up, and once we came inside it was business. Get back to business and lock into the work of what we have to get done in practice.’