Kobe Bryant: A Lasting Legacy That Will Be Remembered
On Sunday, January 26th, nine people were involved in a fatal helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Eight passengers, including the pilot, were killed. The names released were: John Altobeli, Keri Altobeli, Alyssa Altobeli, Christina Mauser, Sarah Chester, Peyton Chester, Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant. A day where many stood still and was shocked that one of basketball’s greatest icons had passed away. Fans and players were affected by the loss of Kobe, and his daughter Gigi, who was under the tutelage of her father and hoped to one day roam the courts of the WNBA.
“I swear my whole body just froze, and my head immediately started to hurt,” said Marsha Green, NBA enthusiast and CEO of Basketball Unfiltered. “We were just literally talking about him just hours before.” — In reference to Lebron James moving ahead of Kobe on the NBA all-time scoring list.
They were headed to the Mamba Sports Academy, which Bryant had been running since 2018. Coaching his daughter who harbored the same passion and fire for the game he once had, and instilling that knowledge into her. Randy Louisdor, a Laker fan who grew up watching Bryant says, “I do feel like that she would have incorporated a lot of what Kobe Bryant taught her into the next level into the WNBA.” Kobe, after retirement, became a loving father to four girls and put the world on notice in regards to his daughter’s skills on an episode of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live. “She’s like, Oy, I got this” Bryant said, “I’m like, that’s right. Yes, you do. You got this.”
After his retirement from the NBA, Kobe was dedicated to being loving father and family man. Giving over 20 years of service to the Los Angeles Lakers and winning five NBA championships. His style of play had appealed to fans of different ages and generations all over the world. As a fan of basketball, you knew to respect his approach to the game. “I gotta say the first thing that drew me to Kobe Bryant, was his competitive nature. Growing up as a kid, I was very competitive, no matter what I was doing I tried to turn it into a competition with somebody else. So just seeing him on the basketball court, you could see that he was more competitive than the next guy. It was definitely his competitive nature that drew me to him” says Kobe superfan Josue Paul from Brooklyn, NY.
Kobe has also impacted the lives of high school basketball players, like Jason Fritz, who played for the Canarsie High School men’s varsity basketball team. “Something that always stuck with me, that made me love the guy, was that mamba mentality. So me growing up, playing basketball, I always had that will to keep on moving, something that Kobe always embodied.”
Kobe’s departure has deeply affected many. He was a workhorse, a maven, but most importantly, a winner. He strived for greatness every time he took the floor, and if there was a singular word to describe Kobe’s approach; “My one word would definitely be relentless. If we know anything about Kobe, we know that's he's someone who never gives up.” Says Green, “If it's in the game of basketball we know Kobes not giving up until he physically couldn't go anymore.”
To many, Kobe embodied the meaning of relentlessness, making sure he perfected every asset of his game. He made sure to always live by the “Mamba Mentality” — a mantra in which he lived by as a means for never giving up — and apply that principle to not only basketball but in life. A true icon, Kobe Bryant will never be forgotten.
