NBA / kobebryant

I first heard about the passing of Kobe Bryant sometime Saturday afternoon. I didn't believe it at first, I thought it was a headline that was faked like so many that claim famous people have died when they really haven't. I quickly pulled up ESPN.com and found that it wasn't some hoax, he had really passed away due to his helicopter crashing out in southern California. It all just seemed so surreal, Kobe had entered the league only a few years after I started following the NBA and was one of the first superstars I got to follow for his entire career. I've had a few days to reflect on it and really couldn't think of any parallel to this tragedy happening to a major sports figure until I remembered Dale Earnhardt Sr passing in the 2001 Daytona 500. I heard someone compare it to 9/11 or the JFK assassination as far as remembering where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news. I'm not sure it's at that level but it's definitely a major sports tragedy that nobody can believe happened. I remember when Kobe first came into the league, drafted right out of high school and traded to the Lakers on draft night. I remember seeing him play in some of his first games during garbage time. I remember laughing at the way he played in those precious few minutes he did get. Flying around the court like the game was on the line and throwing up air-balls. Of course that part of his career was short lived, he became a starter, and an all star, he cut his teeth in the league with Shaq leading the way and experienced playoff disappointment at the hands of the Stockton and Malone led Utah Jazz those early years of his career. I hated the Lakers back then, not him specifically, but because Shaq left Orlando for LA so if he was helping Shaq win, then by extension I disliked him as well. I never really appreciated him as a player, I, like many in the NBA fan-verse considered him only Shaqs sidekick those early years of his career that included winning 3 Championships in a row. After Shaq left the Lakers in 2005 they quickly fell apart until they slowly picked up decent players to surround Kobe. During those down years he had some of the best individual performances in league history. He put up 81 points (2nd highest scoring output in league history) on the Toronto Raptors and averaged over 43 ppg during the month of January in 2006. They finally put together a pretty good team and by 2008 were back in the Finals again where they lost to the Celtics who picked up Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett that previous off-season. The very next year they advanced to the Finals again with the help of the addition of Pau Gasol, where they took on my Orlando Magic. There were a few signature plays in that series, the missed layup by Courtney Lee in game 2, the huge game-tying 3 pointer by Derek Fisher in game 4 to send it to OT, but that play was set up by Bryant literally tackling Dwight Howard to the floor on a dunk attempt that I was up and screaming was a flagrant foul, which would have resulted in two free throws and the ball. The refs didn't see it that way though and called it a regular foul, of course Dwight missed both foul shots to leave the Orlando lead at 3, leading to the aforementioned game tying 3 pointer to send it to OT, where the Lakers eventually pulled out the win. The only thing I can say about that series is that Kobe wanted it more. During that season it was a big debate about who was better, Kobe or Lebron, well, in the end it was Kobe by a mile at that point in time. They went on to avenge the 2008 Finals loss to the Celtics by beating them in 2010 in a crazy 7 game series where he claimed his 5th and final championship. He began to slow down as a player after that 2010 season, suffered some injuries that set him back but he kept persevering and playing his tough gritty win at all costs style. It didn't manifest into playoff success though and he finally retired nearly 4 years ago after dropping 60 points on the Jazz in his final hurrah. He had his share of forgettable moments including the off the court episode in Colorado. From all accounts though he had moved on from all that drama and became a loving husband and a great father to all of his daughters. He was in development of a book series and won an oscar award for an animated short based on his poem "Dear Basketball". He was enjoying his retirement by coaching up his 13 year old daughter Gigi and her team to be the best they could be. She tragically lost her life that day with her father along with the 7 others who were on board the helicopter when it crashed. I still can't believe that this happened and that he's gone. His was a life taken way too soon. He meant a lot to the NBA at large as well as the entire city of LA and the Laker fan base across the country. He led team USA to 2 Olympic gold medals which cemented his status as a global basketball icon. He'll always live on as one of the best to ever play in the NBA and many will forever mourn this loss of an NBA Super Star.