We aren't even a month into 2020, and it has already taken three legendary sports figures away from us. David Stern and Don Larsen were a little more expected. Stern had been having health problems and Larsen was old. But Kobe?
This is the same Kobe Bryant who not even 24 hours ago was congratulating LeBron for passing him on the NBA's all-time scoring list. This is the same Kobe Bryant who probably still could be playing in the NBA if he wanted to. This is the same Kobe Bryant who'll be inducted into the Hall of Fame later this year. And now he won't be there to give an acceptance speech.
Nowadays, it seems like any kid who picks up a basketball thinks he's good enough to go directly from high school to the NBA, and there are so many one-and-dones it's hard to keep track. But when Kobe did it in 1996, it was a completely different time. He was the first to do it since Moses Malone in 1979 and nobody knew if he'd succeed. Well, he succeeded and then some. He spent 20 years with one of the NBA's marquee franchises and became the face of the league. And he did it with class.
Throughout his career, there wasn't a single person who ever had anything negative to say about Kobe Bryant. It would've been easy to "hate" him just because. After all, he was the superstar playing for the Lakers, a team rival fans loved rooting against. But they never did. Because Kobe simply commanded that level of respect. From everyone he came across.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was probably the one who first came up with the plan, but every other team in the NBA followed suit with a beautiful tribute. Every NBA game today started with both teams taking a 24-second violation (or an 8-second violation) in honor of Kobe's jersey number. And the move prompted a standing ovation and chants of "Kobe! Kobe!" at every arena. The Grammys are being held at Staples Center tonight, and a massive crowd gathered outside the arena. They weren't there to see music's biggest stars, though. They were all there wearing No. 8 and No. 24 Lakers jerseys.
He transcended basketball, too. There aren't many people who are instantly recognizable by only one name, but Kobe was one of them. When you said the name "Kobe," everyone knew who you were talking about.
And could there be a more perfect athlete to play in LA? Playing for the Lakers could be a burden. For Kobe Bryant, it never was. In fact, it was just the opposite. He was a Hollywood star in his own right. Kobe was built for the spotlight, and he thrived in it.
That was never more apparent than his final game, when he dropped 60 points on the Jazz. As you know, I'm pretty adamant about by general apathy towards the NBA, but I watched almost that entire game. And I, like almost everyone else, just wanted him to keep shooting. You knew Kobe was going to do something special that night, but I don't think anyone expected 60! But maybe we should've. Because Kobe knew how to rise to the occasion.
In their illustrious history, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a number of legendary players, from Wilt Chamberlain to Elgin Baylor to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaquille O'Neal to LeBron James. But the general consensus, even among those legends, is that the greatest is either Magic Johnson or Kobe Bryant. Who's No. 1 depends on who you ask (Magic would always say Kobe and Kobe would always say Magic), but it really doesn't matter. To be considered in the same breath as Magic Johnson as one of the two best players in Lakers history speaks volumes about Kobe Bryant and his legacy.
His legacy extended to USA Basketball. After the disappointing bronze at the 2004 Olympics, Kobe was one of the first to sign up for the 2008 team. He started every game in Beijing and averaged 15 points as the "Redeem Team" won the gold medal. Kobe might've been even better in 2012, when he led the U.S. to a second straight gold medal in London. Jerry Colangelo, who assembled both of those teams as the Chairman of USA Basketball, was interviewed on SportsCenter this afternoon and said that the U.S. doesn't win either of those Olympic titles without Kobe Bryant.
What's even crazier about all this is that Kobe Bryant's name had been in the news all week for different reasons. Wednesday was the 14th anniversary of his signature moment--his 81-point effort against the Raptors, the second-highest individual scoring performance in NBA history. Then, of course, there was the talk about LeBron passing him for third place on the all-time scoring list. Some people wondered what Kobe's reaction would be. Minutes after LeBron did it, Kobe sent out a congratulatory tweet. Almost fittingly, it's the last thing he ever posted on his Twitter account.
My generation had Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. Kids today have LeBron James and Steph Curry. Everyone in between had Kobe Bryant. How many guys currently playing in the NBA wear No. 8 or No. 24 because of Kobe? How many have stories of encounters with Kobe and how generous he was with his time? All of the stories I heard today were similar. It sounds like that was simply Kobe being Kobe.
There's no doubt in my mind that Kobe Bryant could still be playing in the NBA if he wanted to. But after 20 years, he'd had enough. Besides, he was ready to move on to another chapter of his life. That second chapter included an Oscar for his short film "Dear Basketball." He also had a production company and an ESPN show. Kobe also wrote a children's book that became a New York Times bestseller. Who knows what else could've been in store had that second chapter not been so short?
One of the other victims in the crash was his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. They were on the way to her basketball game, where Kobe was going to coach her team. You could tell from all the photos of them together that were posted all over social media how much Kobe loved his children and encouraged Gianna's love of basketball. In every picture, they're both beaming from ear to ear. They were regulars at LA Sparks games, and Gianna wanted to play for Geno Auriemma at UConn. You can bet her proud father would've been there every step of the way!
While he's gone far too soon, Kobe Bryant's legacy will endure forever. He was so much more than an all-time great basketball player. He was a transcendent, cultural icon. He was "The Black Mamba," a nickname he came up with himself. Or, as LeBron said earlier in the week: "Kobe is a legend, that's for damn sure!"
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