The room sat silent. An emotional Rob Pelinka had just finished addressing the Lakers for the first time since Kobe Bryant’s death two days earlier. His anguish was evident. Now, Frank Vogel, emceeing a luncheon designed for members of the organization to collectively grieve, had opened the floor at the team’s El Segundo headquarters to anyone who wanted to share their own stories about Bryant.



No one spoke. Finally, after about 15 seconds of silence, LeBron James rose from his seat. “I’ll go,” he said.



For more than 10 minutes, Lakers players, staff members and executives, including owner Jeanie Buss, sat rapt as James shared stories from his battles with Bryant as opponents and their time as teammates in two Olympics. The group was gathered in an event suite overlooking the team’s practice court, directly across the gym from where the Lakers championship trophies could be seen in Buss’ office window.



When James...