Kobe Bryant's shocking death will always have added poignancy for New Zealand's first NBA player Sean Marks.
As general manager of the Brooklyn Nets, Marks had dinner with Bryant late last year and says he also spent time with the LA Lakers legend and his 13-year-old daughter Gigi - who also died in the California helicopter crash - just last week.
Some of the last courtside images of Bryant and his daughter were shot when they attended a game between Brooklyn and Atlanta at the Barclays Centre, home to the Nets, a few days before Christmas.
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Aucklander Marks, a 230-game NBA player, had some "pretty good battles" against the legendary Bryant when the San Antonio Spurs played the Lakers.