ORLANDO, Fla. — Green Bay linebacker Za’Darius Smith hastily organized a homage to Kobe Bryant minutes before the Pro Bowl.

Smith and his NFC teammates learned about Bryant’s death while they were in the locker room getting ready for the NFL’s all-star game Sunday. Smith suggested the best way to pay tribute to the late NBA great was to mimic his fadeaway jumper after big plays.

So they did – repeatedly.

It was one of several ways NFL players remembered Bryant during the celebratory event, which the AFC won 38-33 for its fourth consecutive victory in Orlando.

“I don’t even want to talk about it anymore,” Smith said in the locker room hours later. “I don’t want to get emotional.”

Detroit cornerback Darius Slay didn’t duck his feelings. He grew up idolizing Bryant so much that he had a custom Lakers hoodie made to warm up in before NFL games. Slay also got to meet Bryant a few years back.

“It’s heart-wrecking,” Slay said with tears in his eyes. “There’s not any words you can say. I’m in shock. I just imagine him growing old, being part-owner of the Lakers and having a future son I could cheer for next. It’s just shocking. Me saying the words ‘Kobe’s gone,’ that’s just crazy.”

Bryant died in a helicopter crash early Sunday near Calabasas, California, and the news spread shortly before the Pro Bowl. It put a damper on the game held on the other side of the country.

Players checked cellphones on the sidelines for updates, all of them looking for information and answers.

“It shocked the whole locker room,” Philadelphia defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said. “Nobody thought it was true, but it was. It’s a sad day for sports.”

Aside from the Bryant tributes, the game went as expected. There were big plays everywhere and few tackles anywhere. The teams combined for 834 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The play of the day was Pittsburgh linebacker T.J. Watt’s 82-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter. Jacksonville’s Calais Campbell sacked Kirk Cousins on fourth-and-goal from the 9 and stripped the ball, which Watt scooped up and went untouched the other way to put the AFC ahead 38-27.

Campbell was named the AFC’s defensive player of the game. Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson was the offensive MVP.