On Jan. 26, Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven other people passed away in a helicopter accident in Calabasas, California. The seven individuals included one mother and daughter, a family of three, a mother, and the pilot. The entire world was left in shock by the unexpected death of an NBA legend, leaving many to make tributes to Bryant. Some of those tributes included posts on social media, artwork on basketball courts, or murals on the side of buildings.
Bryant continues to be an inspiration to many, leaving a lasting legacy about the importance of hard work and being a multifaceted individual. Bryant played for one marquee franchise during his whole 20-year career: the Los Angeles Lakers. Lakers legends, like Magic Johnson and Jerry West, consider him to be the greatest Laker of all-time. Some consider winning championships to be important criteria for being considered among the “GOATs,” and Kobe Bryant won the NBA championship five times. His individual accolades include being a two-time finals MVP, eighteen-time All-Star, and eleven-time all-NBA First Team member. It was only after Bryant’s retirement in 2016 when fans got to see the supportive, fatherly side of Kobe Bryant that was lost amidst his intensity on the court.
Bryant had four daughters. He wanted to teach his daughters everything he had learned from competing against the best basketball players in the world since he was 17. His second oldest daughter, Gianna, was the most receptive to the basketball training and advice Kobe would give. She had aspirations to go to the University of Connecticut, a school that boasts perhaps the greatest women’s basketball program in NCAA history.
The two, along with seven other passengers, were on their way to basketball practice at Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Academy when the helicopter crashed into the side of a mountain. On that day, there was heavy fog in the area, making it very difficult for the pilot to navigate through the area. Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Alyssa Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, John Altobelli, Christina Mauser, and the pilot, Ara Zobayan, also passed away in the crash. There have been memorials dedicated to them as well in the following weeks after the crash.
Bryant leaves behind a lasting legacy, including a phrase that he was famous for called the “Mamba Mentality.” Throughout his career, he would dedicate exorbitant effort in comparison to his other peers in the NBA . He consistently woke up early to perfect his craft and would outwork and outperform other elite NBA players on a daily basis. He had a knack for scoring, and amassed an impressive 33,643 points over his career—good enough for fourth all-time in NBA history. He even has the second most points scored in a single game with 81, ranking only behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 point game.
As his career progressed, the injuries began to mount. In 2013, he tore his Achilles in a game, but didn’t go out until he showed his trademarked and made both his free throws on the same torn Achilles. In the final game of his career, even with his body not being able to do what it once could, he willed himself to a 60-point game and led his team to a come from behind victory, making it one of the greatest farewell performances in all of sports.
After the shock of Kobe’s unfortunate passing, we grieve the loss of someone who, to many basketball fans, was as much a part of their childhood as anything, and we have the opportunity to take the lessons Kobe showed us to make us better individuals. Bryant described himself as hard-working and he never had to be, as his talent was exhibited in everything that he did. He was committed to working hard as one of the greatest to play the game of basketball, but also strove to impart his knowledge on the next generation of basketball players, leaving us to use his example so that one day, we can achieve excellence. •
