Bryant (pictured above) played all of his 20 seasons in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 until his retirement in 2016. He was killed along with eight others in a tragic helicopter crash on Sunday Jan. 26 (Courtesy of creative commons)
Some people have achieved such a level of fame and popularity in the world that they only need to be referred to by one name in order for everyone to know who you’re talking about. Beyoncé, Lebron, Rihanna, Cher, Gandhi and, of course, Kobe.
Kobe was the type of person that everyone knew was special from the moment he came onto the national scene as a breakout young high school basketball player from Philadelphia. He was the type of figure that inspired and motivated countless people to work as hard as possible in order to achieve their goals; the type of person to make us all realize how beautiful difficult tasks can be and taught us never to shy away from the challenge of accomplishing them. Kobe was a legend that personified mental fortitude in an athletic setting. He showed us that if you have the passion for something it won’t take much convincing to put 100 percent effort in 100 percent of the time. Most importantly, Kobe was the type of parent that all future parents should try to emulate.
Kobe was so many things to so many people, and he never once felt like someone we would ever be referring to in the past tense. After his tragic death on Sunday Jan. 26, fans, peers and celebrities alike have felt the sting of losing a legendary individual at a level deeper than other celebrity deaths.
Kobe Bean Bryant was born on Aug. 23, 1978 in Philadelphia to former NBA player Joe Bryant and his wife Pamela. He started playing basketball at age three, and by the time he was six years old his family had moved to Italy where he continued to play the game he had come to love. Spending several years in Italy resulted in Kobe learning the Italian language, culture and traditions before returning to Philadelphia for his high school education and athletic career.
Following a stellar high school career, Kobe was drafted in 1996 by the Charlotte Hornets and became the only guard drafted straight out of high school. He was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers before his rookie season began. In his first three seasons, Kobe improved steadily as onlookers began to realize the once-in-a-generation talent that they had in front of them.
Beginning in 1999 with new head coach Phil Jackson, the Lakers would go on to win three-straight NBA Championships lead by Kobe and another dominant superstar in center Shaquille O’Neal. For young fans, the Kobe and Shaq era shaped their understanding of the game of basketball and gave them one of the most unstoppable duos in the sport’s history.
Following O’Neal’s departure in 2004 after an NBA Finals loss, Kobe assumed command of the Lakers for the foreseeable future. He was the team’s workhorse and was able to score seemingly at-will no matter who his opponents were. He famously scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006; which stands as the second-highest single-game scoring performance in NBA history. After the season ended, it was announced that Kobe would switch his jersey number from 8 to 24.
Kobe and the Lakers would reach three more NBA Finals from 2008-2010, winning the championship in 2009 and 2010. In both wins, Kobe was named Finals MVP due to his standout performances.
For the remainder of his playing career, Kobe was chasing an elusive sixth NBA championship to match the number of rings that fellow legend Michael Jordan had won in the 1990s. Unfortunately, injuries began to ravage his body and eventually forced him to retire. A month into the 2015-16 season, Kobe announced that it would be his last year playing in the NBA. He noted in his article to the Players’ Tribune that his mind, heart and soul could still take the beating, but his body could not. In his final career game against the Utah Jazz, Kobe left us with one last legendary performance by scoring 60 points in the Lakers’ 101-96 victory.
The beautiful thing about Kobe’s career, however, was that even though his playing days were over, he still applied his “Mamba Mentality” to whatever he was working on. He became involved in music production, founded philanthropic organizations, established a venture capital firm and won an Academy Award for his short film “Dear Basketball.” Kobe continued to be living proof that if you are determined enough and put the required work in, you could succeed. The young people who had watched him and O’Neal more than 15 years prior had grown up and were still being inspired by the drive and work ethic Kobe personified.
Perhaps even more heartbreaking than losing Kobe three days ago is the added senseless loss of eight other lives in the tragic helicopter crash—including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, her teammates Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester and their parents.
Kobe was the type of person that will be remembered forever; seen eternally as one of the greatest athletes who ever graced the hardwood—and maybe one of the greatest athletes ever. He seemed invincible, which makes accepting his death that much harder. One name is sometimes all you need to elicit deep emotions from somebody, and if it wasn’t before, then “Kobe” certainly is one of them now.