AceShowbiz - Lamar Odom has spoken out following the shock death of his ex-Los Angeles Lakers teammate, Kobe Bryant.

The basketball stars played together from 2004 until 2011 and, following the sad news his pal, 41, and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna had died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, January 26, 2020 morning, Lamar opened up about the loss on U.K. TV show "Good Morning Britain".

"It seems rather surreal. It feels like a long-lasting nightmare. I'm gonna miss him dearly," he said, appearing via a live link with his fiancee Sabrina Parr.

"I haven't really felt a pain or shock like this since my son passed away in 2006," added the sportsman, whose six-month-old son Jayden died in 2006 from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). "I'm feeling really bad and his fans are, I can just imagine how his children and wife and his mother and father feel right now."

Insisting their friendship has had a lasting impact on his life, he elaborated, "I'm just blessed I was able to rub shoulders with that man, and have a little bit of that magical dust sprinkled on me."

And Lamar revealed Kobe was by his side during his "darkest moments," when he suffered from kidney failure, heart attacks and strokes, and eventually became comatose and was placed on life support following a battle with cocaine addiction, sharing, "I think for everyone to put their best foot forward. Don't ever stop and go after your dreams because if we combine the two, he's a prime example anything can happen..."

"Because he combined the two, hopefully they will change the logo of the NBA to his silhouette," he said, placing himself among stars including Usher, Justin Bieber, and Snoop Dogg calling for the NBA (National Basketball Association) to honour Kobe with a new logo.

The former "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star also paid tribute to his late pal on Instagram with a gallery of snaps.