April 14, 2020, published on BleacherReport.com
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2886359-a-season-of-loss
Sabrina Ionescu woke in a panic. She didn’t know if she was still dreaming or awake.
Whoa, she thought to herself. What‘s going on?
It took her a few seconds on this recent night to calm down, to gather herself. To realize she had been dreaming.
But she couldn’t let the dream go. Lying under her covers in bed, she replayed it in her head. Every detail, every sound, haunted her. Especially that laugh.
She kept hearing Gigi Bryant’s laugh in the dream. That sweet, high-pitched laugh that could jolt joy into the grumpiest of souls.
The dream takes her back to summer. L.A. Last year. Ionescu was standing on the sideline with Gigi’s father, Kobe Bryant, who was also Ionescu’s mentor and best friend. They watched as 13-year-old Gigi laughed so hard with her Team Mamba teammates that her eyes began to squint into mini moons. Then Ionescu and Kobe started laughing too, sharing the most simple and meaningful joy: being around basketball, being around each other. (READ FULL STORY HERE).
Mirin Fader 