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Another former Chicago Bull met with a prominent world leader this week. Jud Buechler, a reserve guard during the team's second three-peat, met with Willy Telavi, the prime minister of Tuvalu, a small Pacific island nation.

Buechler said he "was in the area," so he stopped by Telavi's island residence. "Wasn't too hard," Buechler said. "I asked a coconut vendor where his place was, and when I found it I just knocked on the door. Willy answered in a bathrobe and excused himself to dress."

Last week, eccentric ex-Bull Dennis Rodman met with brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, and the two bonded over basketball and foreign policy. The straight-laced Buechler and Telavi, though, had little in common.

"I tried to talk about basketball and Michael Jordan, but Willy doesn't care much for sports," Buechler said. "He mentioned the Pacific Island Forum Fisheries Agency and the country's rivalry with Nauru, but that went over my head."

"We basically talked about the weather for 45 minutes," Telavi said. "Except, it's been sunny and 80 degrees all week, with no clouds."

Ripples were made when Rodman said that Kim Jong-un was "a friend for life." Buechler said he has a similar relationship with Telavi.

"We get along great," Buechler said. "Lucky for both of us we enjoy awkward pauses and long gaps between conversation."

The Los Angeles Lakers fell 122-105 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night, dropping the team to its devastating 31st season-sending defeat of the season.

"Well, it's officially over now," said a despondent Kobe Bryant in the postgame locker room. "Our season is done. Over. Official time of death: tonight."

Los Angeles' defeat saw the team fall to 30-31 on the season and 2.5 games out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The season-ending loss is especially disappointing to the team because just two days earlier they had saved their season with a victory over the Hawks — giving them their 30th season-saving win of the season.

"I thought we were back. I thought we were a legitimate threat," said point guard Steve Nash. "I mean, 30 season-saving wins in a season is a lot. But, no. Now it's all over. It all fell apart so fast."