Lakers try to refocus on basketball after Bryant’s death

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, and guard Quinn Cook embrace at the end of NBA basketball practice in El Segundo, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. The Lakers held their second practice Thursday, while they continue to grieve for former player Kobe Bryant. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers, shattered by the death of franchise icon Kobe Bryant, are trying to wrench their attention back to their pursuit of an NBA title, a chase that resumes Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers.

“We’re concentrating on the work,” head coach Frank Vogel told reporters at the team’s practice facility in suburban El Segundo. “There’s therapy in the work.”

Before getting down to the most serious work, however, the Lakers warmed up outside with a little soccer and American football designed to lighten the atmosphere.

“We are striking a balance of trying to make guys feel good,” Vogel said. “Laughter is always a good remedy for something like this when it’s appropriate.

“Today’s workout outside, it’s not the first time we’ve done that. But it does feel good to be out there.”

The Lakers were on their way home from Philadelphia when Bryant — who won five NBA titles in a 20-year career with the club — was killed in a helicopter crash in suburban Calabasas on Sunday

The 41-year-od was among nine people who died, a group that included his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, her Mamba Academy basketball teammates Payton Chester and Alyssa Altobelli, Altobelli’s parents John and Keri, and Chester’s mother Sarah.

Pilot Ara Zobayan and Christina Mauser, an assistant coach of the Mamba Academy team, also died.

Lakers superstar LeBron James was among many in the NBA — and the greater sports world around the globe — to express his anguish at Bryant’s death on social media.

But James and other Lakers players have yet to speak publicly about the loss of a player who defined one generation of NBA players and inspired another.

Bryant’s wife Vanessa broke her silence in an Instagram post on Wednesday night, saying she was “devastated” by the sudden loss of her husband and daughter.

“Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to light the way,” she wrote. “Our love for them is endless — and that’s to say, immeasurable.”

Jeanie Buss, the controlling owner and president of the Lakers, offered condolences via Instagram on Thursday to Vanessa Bryant and the couple’s other three daughters: Natalia, Bianka and Capri.