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| Kobe Bryant |
On January 26, 2020, NBA champion Kobe Bryant passed away at the age of 41 in Calabasas, California in a helicopter crash along with his daughter Gianna and seven other passengers. Over the course of his career, he became the all-time scorer for The Lakers over the course of 20 years. He is considered one of the greatest players in NBA history with five championships and has become ubiquitous with excellence as an athlete. With a poem detailing his retirement called "Dear Basketball," he became a rare sports start to also win an Oscar, proving that he was capable of doing anything. What he leaves behind is a seismic shift in how everyone not only sees the sport but how athletes from every generation since sees the game. He was a legend in his own time, and his work more than speaks for itself.
Bryan was born on August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the youngest of three children and son of former NBA player Joe Bryant. He is also the maternal nephew of John "Chubby" Cox and is named after the famous beef in Kobe, Japan. After retiring from the NBA, Joe moved the family to Italy. It was here that Bryant became fluent in Italian and formed a fondness for Reggio Emilia. He also formed an interest in playing basketball when he was three. He would also play soccer. If things didn't seem predestined already, Kobe's favorite team as a child was the Lakers, making his later achievements already set in stone. While he would spend his youth in Italy, he did come to America for basketball summer league programs.
At Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia, he became the first Freshman to play for the varsity team. It was here that he began to rack up acclaim as a player. With a high G.P.A., he had all of the big universities looking to hire him. However, he had seen the recent decisions of Kevin Garnett and decided to be drafted into the NBA straight out of high school. It was a rare move, making Bryant only the sixth person in history (Garnett was the first in 20 years). During the NBA draft, he would be picked by the Charlotte Hornets but traded to The Lakers to complete a deal. This would end up working in his favor, as he spent 20 years with The Lakers and had a memorable partnership with teammate Shaquille O'Neal. He became the youngest player in several categories early on to receive exceptional feats. By his second season, he was playing at all-star events and by his third, he was seen as displaying talent to be among the best players in franchise history, and the sport in general.
During his time with The Lakers, he would help the team become the first to receive a "threepeat" championship winning back-to-back-to-back between 2000 and 2002. Being the champion that he was, he always kept pushing himself and became known for his tough work ethic, to push players to try harder to be their best. He gave himself the nickname "Black Mamba" as a form of aspiration, wishing to have the consistency of a mamba to hit their target (99%). Considering that he became the premiere player in regards to last-second shots that could give The Lakers a victory, it became exciting to watch him. People would adopt his name as a moniker for taking trick shots, like tossing a paper ball into a trashcan. If you made it, you were as good as Kobe. He was a phenomenon on and off the court, praised for his technique and ability to move around everyone. In 2006, he played a game against the Toronto Raptors where he had the second-most points scored in a single game at 81 points (Wilt Chamberlain holds the record at 100 points). Even after O'Neal left for the Miami Heat, he fought hard to get those championships. In typical Bryant fashion, he wanted to win six so that he could tie with Michael Jordan. At five wins, two post-O'Neal, he became one of the best in franchise history. By 2010, he also held the record for most points scored by any Laker: a record he held until January 26, 2019, when LeBron James earned that honor. Kobe was quick to give him praise for the achievement of "moving the game forward."
While his later career was marked with occasional injuries and problems, he is considered to have had one of the best final seasons in his career. With 20 years in the game, he became one of the few players to have a career spanning two decades. To commemorate his retirement, he wrote a letter in 2015 to The Players' Tribute titled "Dear Basketball." It was a poem that announced his love for the sport and how it meant everything to him. The letter was so beloved that it became an animated short with music by John Williams. From there it would go on to win awards, most notably earning Bryant the rare honor of being an athlete Follwith an Oscar.
During his time with The Lakers, he would help the team become the first to receive a "threepeat" championship winning back-to-back-to-back between 2000 and 2002. Being the champion that he was, he always kept pushing himself and became known for his tough work ethic, to push players to try harder to be their best. He gave himself the nickname "Black Mamba" as a form of aspiration, wishing to have the consistency of a mamba to hit their target (99%). Considering that he became the premiere player in regards to last-second shots that could give The Lakers a victory, it became exciting to watch him. People would adopt his name as a moniker for taking trick shots, like tossing a paper ball into a trashcan. If you made it, you were as good as Kobe. He was a phenomenon on and off the court, praised for his technique and ability to move around everyone. In 2006, he played a game against the Toronto Raptors where he had the second-most points scored in a single game at 81 points (Wilt Chamberlain holds the record at 100 points). Even after O'Neal left for the Miami Heat, he fought hard to get those championships. In typical Bryant fashion, he wanted to win six so that he could tie with Michael Jordan. At five wins, two post-O'Neal, he became one of the best in franchise history. By 2010, he also held the record for most points scored by any Laker: a record he held until January 26, 2019, when LeBron James earned that honor. Kobe was quick to give him praise for the achievement of "moving the game forward."
While his later career was marked with occasional injuries and problems, he is considered to have had one of the best final seasons in his career. With 20 years in the game, he became one of the few players to have a career spanning two decades. To commemorate his retirement, he wrote a letter in 2015 to The Players' Tribute titled "Dear Basketball." It was a poem that announced his love for the sport and how it meant everything to him. The letter was so beloved that it became an animated short with music by John Williams. From there it would go on to win awards, most notably earning Bryant the rare honor of being an athlete Follwith an Oscar.
After producing one of the best final seasons by a player, Bryant retired to focus on a variety of things. He helped his daughters perform very well at basketball, believing that the sport wasn't specifically for men. He would form various organizations to celebrate the sport as well, including a game theory series on ESPN+ called Detail. He remained busy and passionately supported the game in ways that brought attention to it. Even with a few years of retirement, he was considered an untouchable great, and many still playing or starting out sought to be as great as him. He was an inspiration to fans, forever cementing The Lakers as one of the greatest teams in NBA history.
It could be seen in his passing following the unfortunate helicopter crash. Fans flocked to Lakers' home court Staples Center to pay tribute. The Grammys, which were held that night, also took a moment to commemorate his life. Every player within reach of a microphone (even those retired like Kareem Abul Jabbar and Magic Johnson) have made public statements about how saddened they are. Many teams have taken 24 second shot clock violations to remember the number that he played as. With The Mavericks also talking about retiring the number 24 jersey despite Bryant never playing for them, it speaks to how much he was a figure greater than any one team. He was basketball's champion, maybe the best of his generation. The tributes are far from over, and it's going to be powerful to see where things go from here.
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