Justin Timberlake pens heartfelt note over Kobe Bryant's demise

The celebrities continue to mourn over the demise of Basketball player Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter in a helicopter crash on Monday. American-singer Justin Timberlake joined the clan on Tuesday and penned down a heartfelt note on social media about their friendship.

The 38-year-old singer hopped on to Instagram to share six photos of Bryant and himself. The shared photograph had them in smiles, hugging, laughing, clearly giving the definition to the friendship they shared.

Alongside the photos, the singer wrote a lengthy caption, in which he shared how they met as teens, and how they bonded over through their journey of life.

He started off the caption as: "We met when we were both teenagers and bonded over our drive and process. I was in awe of what you could do with a basketball and knew your talent went beyond your physical gifts and stretched to your mentality. A mentality that I would take with me throughout my whole career and still use every day. As the years went by, I watched you do things that seemed humanly unimaginable. And, through ups and downs, championships and injuries, you still remained with an unwavering resolve about your mentality to remain fierce to the competition. But, every time we would speak or text, something started to change... your patience and ease grew. And it inspired me to continue to grow for myself."

The 'Say Something' singer continued about the jokes they used to share even after many passing years, and also about Bryant giving a nickname to himself 'Vino'.

"Years passed, and the "old man" jokes would start to be traded back and forth. We both appreciated a good "ribbing." We joked about "The Vino Club." You nicknamed yourself 'Vino' to represent how one could age gracefully as a fine wine does. But, you never stopped aiming to inspire me."

Justin made a reference to how much he admired him as a person and Bryant never stopped inspiring him.

"Your confidence in me was huge - it really affected me because I admired you so much. I don't mean as one of the greatest athletes ever. I mean as a person. People sometimes can confuse a will to win with a lack of compassion. That wasn't you. You had both qualities."

The singer concluded the post by addressing the last conversation they had: "The last conversation that we shared was about being fathers and what that meant. That was, beyond all the things that we could do in this world, our true legacy. Who our children are and what beautiful people they will become. And, I guess right now, without being able to find all the words, THAT father connection is what is most devastating for me."

Justin extended his condolences to Bryant's family and to everyone who loved him: "I am sending my love to Vanessa and your family and to the families of everyone connected in the mourning of this terrible tragedy. My heart is broken and my family lifts you up in our thoughts and prayers."

"Kobe... You have connected so many of us. The Mamba Mentality will last for all of the time. I know that will be a source for me every day as it has been for so many days before. Your legacy is with us. It's our responsibility to pass it down now. I hope you I can continue to make you proud, Vino. Champ, MVP, Legend, Hero, Inspiration, Father, Friend. I'm gonna miss you, brother. Mamba forever," he concluded the caption.

Kobe and his 13-year old daughter Gianna Maria Onore Bryant were among the nine people who were killed when the helicopter they were travelling in crashed amid foggy conditions and burst into flames in the hills above Calabasas.

( With inputs from ANI )