Kobe Bryant Is Dead: Did The Basketball World really love him?
It is sad and heartbreaking as the world received news of Kobe Bryant’s death. He was reportedly traveling when the helicopter he was in crashed. His daughter Gigi also died in the helicopter crash that happened on Sunday at Calabasas, California. The helicopter was his personal helicopter, and his destination is still unknown. Following his death, sports stars and superstars worldwide took to social media to mourn his demise.
Who is Kobe Bryant?
Kobe Bryant is a world-class basketball player who showed his prowess in the game and his loyalty to his team throughout his career. As a player, as a coach and even as a family man, Kobe’s lifestyle was enviable. According to Wikipedia, Kobe Bean Bryant (August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships.
Bryant was an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, a 12-time member of the All-Defensive team and was the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2008. Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, ranks fourth on the league’s all-time regular-season scoring and fourth on the all-time postseason scoring list. Bryant was the first guard in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons.
Image source: Unsplash
Kobe Bryant’s Basketball Journey
According to Brittanica, Bryant’s father, Joe (“Jelly Bean”) Bryant, was a professional basketball player who spent eight seasons in the NBA and eight more, playing in Italy, where Bryant went to school.
When his family returned to the United States, Bryant played basketball at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, where he received several national Player of the Year awards and broke the southeastern Pennsylvania scoring record set by Wilt Chamberlain with 2,883 points. Bryant opted to forgo college and declared himself eligible for the NBA draft when he graduated from high school.
The Charlotte Hornets chose him with the 13th pick of the 1996 draft. He was traded to the Lakers shortly thereafter and became the second-youngest NBA player in history when the 1996–97 season opened. He quickly proved his merit with the Lakers and was selected for the NBA All-Star Game in just his second season, becoming the youngest All-Star.
Image source: Unsplash
Bryant was forced to share the role of the Lakers’ star player with his popular and talented teammate, Shaquille O’Neal. The two had an uneasy relationship, but they found success under the leadership of Phil Jackson, who became the coach of the Lakers in 1999. Bryant, a shooting guard, and O’Neal, a center, meshed into a remarkably effective combination, and, by the time Bryant was 23, the Lakers had won three consecutive NBA championships.
After winning their third title in 2002, Bryant and the Lakers encountered difficulties. In the 2003 playoffs, the Lakers were defeated in the second round. Several months later, Bryant was accused of raping a young woman in Colorado. He maintained his innocence, and all charges were eventually dropped when the woman refused to testify after a months long campaign of harassment by fans of Bryant and some members of the media.
(Bryant later apologized, admitting that he realized his accuser did not believe their sexual encounter was consensual, and a civil suit was settled in 2005) The incident greatly tarnished his image. Led by Bryant, the Lakers returned to the finals in 2004, but they were upset by the Detroit Pistons. O’Neal subsequently was traded, and Bryant emerged as the team’s sole leader.
Bryant led the league in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, and in 2008 he was named the league’s MVP for the first time in his career. Bryant won his fourth NBA title in 2009, and he was named the finals MVP after averaging a stellar 32.4 points per game in the series. He led the Lakers to their third straight Western Conference championship in 2009–10, and he was once more named NBA finals MVP after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in a seven-game series.
The Lakers won division titles in each of the following seasons but were eliminated in the second round of each postseason. Entering the 2012–13 season, the Lakers added superstars Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to their lineup and were considered one of the preseason title favourites, but the disappointing team was barely on pace to qualify for the final Western Conference playoff spot when Bryant ruptured his Achilles tendon in April 2013, causing him to miss the rest of the season.
(The Lakers were ultimately the eighth and final playoff seed that season and were swept in their first series.) He returned to the court in December 2013 but played in just six games before fracturing his kneecap and missing the remainder of that season as well. Bryant returned for the beginning of the 2014–15 season before he was again injured, tearing his rotator cuff in January 2015.
He played almost all of the following season but again struggled, with a career-low .358 shooting percentage while averaging 17.6 points per game, and he retired following the last regular-season game of the 2015–16 season.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, he was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s basketball teams at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2012 London Olympic Games. In 2015 Bryant wrote the poem “Dear Basketball,” and two years later it served as the basis for a short film of the same name, which he also narrated. The work won an Academy Award for best animated short film.
In 2018 Bryant published the book The Mamba Mentality: How I Play, in which he described his approach to basketball; the title reflected a nickname he bestowed upon himself during his playing days.
Source: Brittanica
Kobe Bryant’s Family
Kobe Bryant was a real family man. He was happily married to Vanessa Bryant and they had four daughters together. His daughter Gianna who also died in the crash was the second child. She was 13 years old.
Image source: Unsplash
Conclusion
Kobe was a basketball legend, someone who made waves in the world of basketball in his days. The whole world regrets his untimely demise and the ghastly way in which he left us. The world of Basketball however has deemed it fit to not cancel forthcoming games(as was expected).
According to CNN, Bryant, 41, and his daughter were expected at the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for a basketball game scheduled for noon Sunday. Gianna was expected to play in the game and Bryant was expected to coach, according to Lady Mavericks team director Evelyn Morales.
The question now is: with all Kobe Bryant was to basketball, how much did Basketball really love him? I know canceling games will be a bother, but the world is mourning and a great man like Kobe deserves to be honored the right way.
Disclaimer: This is just the opinion of the writer. It is not written to slight anyone.
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