'Forever grateful': Patty Mills pays tribute to Kobe Bryant

Basketball superstars and athletes from around the world continued an outpouring of emotion on Tuesday as they came to grips with Bryant's death.

Bryant, daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash in the Los Angeles Hills on Monday (AEDT).

The sporting world is still feeling the shockwaves, particularly in the NBA where one game was postponed to allow players time to grieve.

LeBron James expressed his heartache on social media on Tuesday and Mills did the same.

Mills and Bryant first crossed paths when the diminutive guard shocked Bryant and Team USA when he was just 19 years old before the 2008 Olympic Games.

"No words will ever do this justice and it is still so hard to comprehend but I will be forever grateful for your generosity, guidance and teaching me ways to inspire my country," Mills said on Twitter.

"Sincere condolences and thoughts are with your family. #MambaForever."

Mills' San Antonio Spurs teammates paid tribute to Bryant just hours after news broke of his passing when they let the shot clock expire in a game against the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors did the same.

"Everyone's pretty emotional about the tragedy with Kobe," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

"All of us know what a great player he was but he went beyond great playing. He was a competitor that ... goes unmatched. It's what made him, as a player, so attractive to everyone.

"That focus, that competitiveness, that will to win and more importantly than that, we feel a deep sense of loss. So many millions of people for so many different reasons ... there are no words that can describe how everybody feels."

Mills kept his emotions in check to help the Spurs beat the Chicago Bulls by a point on Tuesday, scoring 25 points in the 110-109 win on the road.

Bryant was a supporter of Mills even before he had established himself as a serious roll-player in the NBA. He told The Canberra Times in 2012: "I've followed him [Mills] for a long time, I've been a big supporter of his for a while now. 'I know he has dealt with some injuries here and there, but I'm happy to see his career stabilise and that he's playing well.

"Of course [the London Olympics can launch him], this is the stage to do it. He's playing against the best teams in the world and I know he is going to be up for the challenge.''