NBA: Former Lakers Rival Bats For League-Wide Kobe Bryant Jersey Number Retirement

One person who has had countless battles with Kobe Bryant is Paul Pierce. The 42-year-old was among the NBA stars who are left heartbroken following the untimely death of the Los Angeles Lakers legend. Kobe, her daughter Gianna and several others perished in a tragic helicopter crash recently.

Tributes to Bryant poured all over the world, most left in disbelief that the Black Mamba is gone. NBA teams paid tribute to the five-time NBA champion, wearing jerseys while others honored him by taking basketball-related time violations.

As far as Pierce is concerned, there should be more. Among them include retiring Bryant's jersey numbers across the league and a movement to make Kobe's image the new NBA logo, TMZ Sports reported.

"He had such an impact in our game [and] on this generation that you have to make his presence felt -- and continuously felt -- forever," said Pierce.

To date, only the Los Angeles Lakers have officially retired Bryant's jersey numbers. The Dallas Mavericks plan to do the same with Mark Cuban issued a statement announcing the no. 24 will never again be worn by a Dallas Maverick.

Pierce also suggested creating a "Kobe Bryant Day," recognizing the impact that that two-time NBA Finals MVP has brought to the league. Both were fierce competitors on the court but were great friends outside.

Aside from Pierce, there were plenty of other notable names who had a hard time accepting the unfortunate tragedy. Even different sports were left in shock, mostly paying tribute to the NBA icon in their own special way.

This includes Neymar who honored Bryant after scoring a goal, as well as Cristiano Ronaldo. In tennis, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios also had their emotional tributes. During the Grammy's Alicia Keys and Boyz II Men rendered their tribute through a song "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye," according to TMZ Sports.

It may take days to weeks for the whole world to get over the untimely death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter together with seven others. Investigations are underway on the cause of the crash. The latest is that three bodies were already recovered from the site where the helicopter crashed, Sky News reported. Emergency workers continue for other victims with none on board surviving.