Thank You Kobe!
It’s April 30th, 2006. The Lakers are playing the Suns in the first round of the playoffs and I am sitting in my grandmother's living room watching as my favorite player is about to take the hardwood. She had just moved into her new apartment so she didn't have much furniture yet. I remember sitting on one of those big rubber balls people used to work out on, falling off from excitement every time Kobe would make a bucket. Fast forward to the end of the game and Kobe grabs the tipped jump ball along the sideline nearly going out of bounds, navigates up the court with purpose and I can feel my eyes widening and my fist clenching with every dribble. I can feel the tension in the arena through the TV. Kobe knows exactly where he's going and to be honest the defenders probably do as well, but it doesn't matter. Nothing is going to stop Kobe from winning this game for his team and his city. He pushes the ball to the right elbow with Raja Bell in his hip pocket and with a smooth pull up jumper that we would go on to see countless times, with the outstretched arm of Boris Diaw right in his face. He sinks it!
Now this wasn't the beginning of my love for Kobe Bryant. At this point he was already my idol. But this was my first “KOBE MOMENT". One of many moments that I will remember for the rest of my life. The optics behind this shot and the following events are actually pretty crazy in hindsight. That shot gave the Lakers a 3-1 lead in that series. A series they would go on to lose by dropping the final three games. The Lakers collapse in that series lead to Kobe being so frustrated with the organization that he demanded a trade. A quick glance at who was on the floor with him in that series, Lamar Odom (WHO WAS ON CRACK), Luke Walton, Devean George and Smush Parker- Yikes. The fact that the Lakers were in the playoffs with a 3-1lead on anyone was an ode to Kobe's dominance that year. But eventually all was right in the world. The Lakers traded for Pau Gasol and would go on to appear in 3 consecutive NBA Finals, winning two of them.
In my humble opinion Kobe Bryant is the greatest basketball player of all time. (smiles as Jordan fanatics stop reading this article - sorry not sorry) While he may or may not have been better than Jordan he was every bit as damn good. And sorry LeBron fans, this is a two horse race. Kobe was better than the king and it's not close! I could go on with accolades that show how amazing he was. 5x NBA champion, 2x Finals MVP, league MVP, 18x all star, 15x All NBA, 12x All defense, 2x scoring champion, 33,000+ points, 81 point game and TWO separate jerseys retired by the Lakers just to name a few. But that only tells a small part of the story that was Kobe.
The outpour of love and support that has been expressed in lieu of his tragic death has truly shed a light on the kind of person he was and the tremendous impact he had on countless people's lives. Just hearing the type of effect he had on people who had nothing more than a two minute interaction puts into perspective how influential Kobe had become. The "Mamba Mentality" is more than just a good catch phrase, it's more than being an assassin on the basketball court. It was about hard work, dedication, preparation and waking up every day with the goal of being better than you were the day before. Despite being one of the best to ever grace the court, basketball was such a small part in what made Kobe who he was. He went from dropping 61 points in his final game to winning an Oscar. He was writing and producing children's books and shows. The amount of time he gave to current players to work on their game in the off-season no matter what level of basketball they played at. The love he had for the women's game. Everything Kobe put his energy into blossomed into something bigger and better than it was before. There's no doubt in my mind that Kobe's "second half" was going to be even better than his first.
For every game winning bucket that sent me screaming through my house. For every championship that gave me bragging rights to all of my friends. For every argument at the high school lunch table where I fought tooth and nail trying to shed some light on poor souls who thought LeBron was better. For being my idol. For giving me something to yell as I shot paper balls in the trash bin (most of them misses). For being the reason I wore 8 for every team I played on no matter the sport. For inspiring a kid who was 2,532 miles away to be the best that he could be. Thank you Kobe!