January 22nd, 2006. This was the day Kobe Bryant scored 81 points. Yes. 81 points in a single basketball game. Where basketball was mainly playing within the mid-range and to the basket. Kobe was well ahead of his time. If Kobe Bryant played in today’s NBA, he would legit average 40 points a game.
I felt the need to start there because there has been a lot of backlash and disrespect towards the former NBA legend. It always blows my mind that people seem to never include him as one of the top players to ever play this game.
During the week of March 16-March 23 in 2007, Kobe Bryant went on to average 56.7 points a game and tallied in four straight games on 50 or more points in the NBA. Some of those performances include scoring 65 points vs the Portland Trailblazers with an insane montage of shot-creating and clutch moments, 50 points at home vs the Minnesota Timberwolves against NBA legend Kevin Garnett, 60 points on the road versus the Memphis Grizzlies, and concluding 50 points on the road versus the New Orleans Hornets. Yup. He did this in a span of one week. Pure buckets. Pure skill. Pure greatness. Go watch highlights please. I truly believe that people disregard his greatness because they have simply forgotten and fall into today’s “recency bias” which I am not a fan of.
Kobe Bryant was an 18 time NBA All Star, a 5 time NBA champion, a 2 time NBA Finals MVP, a 2007-2008 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, a 15 time all NBA offensive selection, a 12 time all NBA defensive selection, a 2 time Gold Medal olympian, and ranks 4th all time in the NBA scoring with a total of 33,643 points in 20 seasons played with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kobe Bryant was drafted out of high school as the 13th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft Class. Kobe wasn’t remarked as an insanely gifted athlete or an insanely gifted basketball player. He just simply outworked everybody in all regards of life. From 3am workouts, to a 1000 jump shot a day workouts, to multiple day work outs, to his relentless competitive nature, and to his persistence approach of wanting to be the best basketball player he could possibly be. This is why true Kobe fans loved him in every possible way of life.
Kobe Bryant gave all of us hope. To showing the world that no matter the situation, we are all inadequate to some degree. He showed us through true grit, perseverance, and dedication that one can truly become anything through vision. Kobe Bryant’s vision was simple. To become the greatest basketball player of all-time and he did not disappoint. He gave Laker Nation and all basketball fans more than just dazzling performances. He gave us the key to life. Mamba Mentality. To become the best version of yourself in any possible way. To whether if we are musical artists, to business entrepreneurs, to the 9-5’ers in their respective fields, or professional athletes. We can all obtain the skill of focusing in on our crafts, improving our crafts, and becoming a master of our crafts.
Everything negative-challenges is all an opportunity for me to rise. I love this quote that Kobe said. This connects and resonates to me because for some reason, there is always some type of negative narrative about Kobe in some degree of conversation. Kobe was good, but he was just a prototype to Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant had 3 championship rings, but he was the robin to a league dominant Shaquille O’Neal. Even now, Tracy McGrady who was a friend to Kobe Bryant recently went on the air to say Kobe Bryant won 3 championship rings only because he played with Shaquille O’Neal. He then also went onto say that if he played with Shaquille O’Neal he would have 3 rings as well. I can almost guarantee you he would never say that if Kobe was alive today. It’s almost to the point where you kind of just shake your head in a disappointing way and not even acknowledge it then waste your time to argue it. As long as critics and basketball fans can place Kobe Bryant as one of the greatest ten basketball players of all time, I won’t be mad at it. To be placed amongst that list is a high honor of itself. I just would rather Kobe get his flowers rather than people to bash him and not get his credit for what he has done.
The year is 2009. Kobe Bryant is 30 years old. At this point, he had 3 championship rings, one gold meal, and a league MVP. He returned to the NBA Finals a year prior to that, but coming up short losing to the Boston Celtics in 6 games. Meanwhile, his former teammate Shaquille O’Neal had been traded from the Los Angeles Lakers and won a championship with Dwyane Wade in 2006 against the Dallas Mavericks. Shaquille O’Neal now had 4 championships to Kobe Bryant’s 3 championships. This fueled Kobe to win more. The Los Angeles Lakers were able to trade for all star Center Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies to give us an edge for Kobe to compete for championships. This is the exact player that Kobe Bryant needed. In 2009, the Los Angeles Lakers were a very good basketball team. The team finished with a record of 65 wins and 17 losses in a very competitive Western Conference, crowing them as the league’s elite. The journey to get to the NBA finals was not an easy one. The Los Angeles Lakers had to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Houston Rockets, and the Denver Nuggets before getting to the big stage. I was really hoping the Lakers could face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lebron James was unbelieveable to watch that year. He was young, super fast, and super athletic. I’ve never seen a basketball player that big, that fast, and able to do everything. It would have been great for the game, and will go down as of the biggest what ifs and NBA history. A potential Kobe Bryant vs Lebron James NBA finals matchup. The Cleveland Cavaliers were unfortunately eliminated by the Orlando Magic, lead by a league defensive enforcer and Dwight Howard. I personally wasn’t worried about the Orlando Magic. I’m honestly surprised we didn’t sweep them. But, the lakers ended up winning the series in 5 games. Watching Kobe in this NBA Finals run was magical. He had finally done it. He had finally become the true alpha on a team and lead his team to an NBA championship. He had now tied Shaquille O’Neal in championships and brought the Lakers back to the promise land. The culture of delivering and winning NBA championships. Kobe Bryant dominated the series. He averaged 32.4 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, and 7.4 assists per game on an efficient 43 percent from the field, 36 percent from three point range, and 84 percent on free throw percentage. Kobe walked away with first NBA finals MVP award, and captured his first ring since the departure of Shaq. The Lakers were back.
The year is 2010. The Lakers were on a high horse from winning an NBA championship, but they were not content with winning one. They wanted to continue to dominate. We were blessed as Laker Fans to not only have a great NBA player and leader, but we were lead by a philosophical genius in Phil Jackson. Phil Jackson is the greatest NBA coach of all time. He won 6 NBA Championships with the Chicago Bulls lead by Michael Jordan. And had now just won his 5th NBA Championship with a different organization with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was aiming to go back to back. In my opinion, I was raised on “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. Well, the Lakers didn’t seem to follow that mantra. In the 2009 playoffs, Trevor Ariza was a pivotal piece of the Lakers success. He was young, athletic, a good shooter, a good defender, and the perfect role player to play alongside Kobe Bryant. He was the 3 & D player we needed to compete at the highest level. Well, the Los Angeles Lakers ended up trading him away. Still to this day, I am scratching my head to why the Lakers did this. His replacement? None more than the Detroit Brawler in Ron Artest. If you don’t know what I am talking about, do me a favor and google Ron Artest fight at the Detroit Pistons Palace. You will see everything you need to know about the interesting Ron Artest. Yup, that guy signed to the Los Angeles Lakers. I was skeptical, but every team needs that “crazy guy”. The Chicago Bulls had that crazy guy. Dennis Rodman. Upon acquiring him, the Chicago Bulls went on to win 3 NBA Championships. Well, fast forward to game 7 of the NBA finals in 2010. We are playing the Boston Celtics. At home. On our home floor. Who saves the day? If you told me that the crazy nut job Detroit brawling Ron Artest would seal the deal in game 7 of the NBA Finals for Kobe Bryant I would tell you, you would be out of your mind. That’s exactly what happened. It was the fourth quarter. We had a bit of a lead. Kobe Bryant was having an awful shooting night. He has the ball. The shot clock is about to expire. He gives the ball to Ron Artest. He drains the shot. That shot ultimately won us the game. Kobe Bryant had now won his 5th NBA championship and he would now have one more championship ring above Shaquille O’Neal. The Lakers have now won back to back championships and Kobe was on a trajectory to either tie Michael Jordan with his 6 NBA championships or pass him. However, the future would rely majorly on the front office because the players were not getting any younger. Things seemed to be up from there.
The year is 2011. The Lakers are coming off back to back NBA championships and Kobe just proved to the world that he can lead a team and become that dominant NBA player that the organization needed him to be. A lot of teams were looking to beat the Lakers. In this year, Lebron James made a decision that would change the direction of competitiveness in the league. If you can’t beat them join them! Lebron made a decision to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to create a super team. Dwyane Wade went on public to state that they needed to do this because he was tired of Kobe Bryant winning championships. And believe me, a lot of other things happened to prevent the lakers from winning as well. In that same year, Chris Paul was supposed to be traded from the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers. It would have cost us Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, but the league did not want to see a back court of Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant. But, they allow a trio tandem of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. Make that make sense to me. And to see what happened a few years after the Heat was even beyond crazy. Kevin Durant signs to the Golden State Warriors. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green. All on one team. But, this specific conversation is for another day. Okay. 2011. The Dallas Mavericks came out of nowhere. They wanted redemption. They were beat in the 2006 NBA Finals and they wanted a chance to compete again. I don’t think anybody in their right mind had the Dallas Mavericks making a deep run in the playoffs to eventually beat the Miami Heat in 6 games. Dallas had an incredible season and even swept the Los Angeles Lakers to end the lakers chances of winning back to back to back NBA championships. It seemed to go downhill from there for the Lakers. The great Phil Jackson retired as coach from the lakers. Lamar Odom was traded to the Dallas Mavericks. And guys continued to get older. The following year, the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from playoff contention by the Oklahoma City Thunder, which would be Kobe Bryant’s final playoff series and playoff game in Oklahoma City at the age of 33.
The year is 2013. Kobe Bryant enters his 17th NBA season and a lot of hoopla is surrounding the lakers. Dwight Howard, who at the time was the best center in the NBA had just been traded to the Lakers from the Orlando Magic. Steve Nash who was one of the best point guards in the NBA had also just signed to the Lakers as well. Which on paper, looks like a super team. But, the reality is that they are relying on a 34 year old Bryant, a 38 year old Steve Nash, and Dwight Howard who was rehabbing from back surgery who was far from being 100% healthy. Pau Gasol was getting older. He was slower, not as athletic, and was forced to move from the post to the elbow. He was not happy about this. The Los Angeles Lakers for as far as I can remember specifically ran the triangle offense. Which in turn lead to a decade of 5 NBA championships. They seemed to be doing okay right? Well, now with a new coach, everything would change. The Lakers would hire Mike D’Antoni as their new NBA coach. D’Antoni was known to be a coach to shoot a lot of 3 point shots and play extremely fast. I love the idea, but asking 4/5 guys in the starting to lineup to play a run and gun style of offense for 48 minutes a night for a long-stretched NBA season is very unrealistic. We saw very early on that season that the meshing of the guys would not work. The lakers had a nightmare of a season and it seemed to be the beginning of the end for Kobe Bryant. I remember when Kobe Bryant was being interviewed early on in the season by Stephen A Smith on First Take. Kobe looked drained, and a quarter of the season hadn’t been played yet. Kobe went on to average 27.3 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, and 6.0 assists per game on an efficient 46.3 percent from the field, 32 percent from three point range, and 83.9 percent from the free throw line. Kobe was single handedly carrying the Lakers as a 35 year old man. That’s a lot to ask for, for someone entering his 17th year. It looked towards the end of the season that Kobe would will the Lakers to play the playoffs. I saw a small glimpse of hope. But, one game would change everything.
The date is April 12th, 2013. The Lakers are playing the Golden State Warriors are home. Against a young Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson who are deemed as two of the best shooters of all-time. At this point, the Lakers were looking good. It seemed as if we were going to make the playoffs this year. I knew that we wouldn’t do much in the playoffs, but I just wanted to see us compete. Kobe started off slow. He scored his first field goal late in the second quarter and seemed to pick it up progressively during the game. His age showed tremendously during this game. I’ve never seen Kobe go down to the floor and grimace in so much pain as much as I did watching this game. It happened time after time. It was always a breath of relief when he would get up and walk it off. But, that was the mamba. That’s why we loved him. Fast forward to the fourth quarter. Amid him pushing through pain, injuries, and mileage the mamba was taking over the game. He hit back to back three pointers igniting the crowd in Staples Center. A few plays later, Kobe would endure a life changing experience. One as lakers fan that we were not ready for. Kobe Bryant is in his triple threat position with a young savy defender in Harrison Barnes across from him. Kobe takes one dribble and falls to the ground. Boom. Just like that. Kobe tears his achillies. The grit and toughness from this man is something that is very uncommon in today’s NBA. After tearing his achillies tendon, this man limped and made his way from the bench to the free throw line to make both free throws. He left the game and limped to the locker room. His future would change forever.
The next 3 years would be much different for Kobe Bryant. Kobe was riddled by continuous injuries and it was abundantly clear that he was on the other side of his NBA career. When Kobe returned from his achillies injury, he would only play 6 games in the 2013-2014 NBA season. He suffered a broken leg and was setback again from another injury. His season would come to an end very early after returning. In the 2014-2015 season, Kobe looked like a shell of his former self. He would average 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists. Unfortunately, Kobe would endure another season ending injury. He suffered a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. His 2014-2015 season would come to an end after 35 games. He was 36 years old at the time in his 19th NBA season.
The date is November 29th, 2015. Kobe announces his retirement to the world. He was 37 years old during this time in his 20th NBA season. I knew it was time. And he got the love he deserved. It was now his official Farewell tour. It seemed that through every game he was given his flowers- and rightfully so. You would think that away games were home games the way fans were cheering for him whenever he touched the ball. Kobe didn’t shoot the ball well that season, but it was amazing to see the outpour of love from the fans throughout the entire league. Kobe went onto to average 17.3 points per game, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. I don’t think anybody truly cared how poorly Kobe played on a nightly basis, we just wanted to see him shoot the ball as much as possible and have former flashes of himself. The Lakers were awful that year, but the only thing we as fans wanted was to embrace him and show him our true appreciation for what he gave to Laker Nation. And it showed. Especially in his last game ever as a Laker.
His last game was really weird to me. I remember when the Lakers announced “In his final game with the Los Angeles Lakers, from Lower Merion High School, Kobeeeee Bryant”. That still gives me goosebumps to this day. I’m sure all of you Kobe fans remembered where you were during Kobe’s final game. I was 20 years old at my off-campus college apartment. I remember it was late at night and I was screaming my lungs out through every made basket. When the game started, Kobe missed his first 5 shots and I was thinking he was going to have a terrible night on his finale. He ended up getting going throughout the game and it ended up being a legendary and magical ending to the story book. Kobe ended up scoring 60 points on 50 shots. Nobody cared either. We just wanted to see him shoot every time he got the ball. And that’s what he did. That’s why we love him. The lakers ended up winning the game and Kobe hit the go ahead field goal to give the Lakers the lead late in the game. He also hit two more free throws at the end of the game to give us more of a cushion as the clock was ticking down to 0. The game ends. The lakers win. Kobe scores 60. The lakers didn’t make the playoffs, but again. Nobody cared. We just wanted to see Kobe hoop. And he gave us the game we needed to see. Post-game. The lakers allowed Kobe Bryant to step into center-court with the world watching. He delivers an amazing speech and closes with “Mamba Out”. He drops the mic in the center of the court and closes the story in magical form. Legendary.
And just like that. That was it. 5 time NBA Champion, 2 time USA gold-medal olympian, 1996 Slam Dunk Contest Winner, 2 time Scoring Champ, 2007-2008 NBA MVP, 2 time NBA Finals MVP, and the fourth leading scorer of all time with 33,643 points. He was done. It was weird watching the Lakers after that for a few years without Kobe. The lakers would go on to be pretty bad for the next few seasons, but we would seemingly recover. I remember there was one game where Kobe pulled up and they were at home. I’ll never forget he arrived with his family and he came into Staples Center with a fresh black suit on. I also remember when he left as well. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope shot a 3 at the end of the 4th quarter and airballed so bad that Kobe got up with his family and left the game. It was pretty funny, but the funnier moment was that the fans cared more about Kobe leaving than KCP airballing a 3 to send the lakers into overtime.
Kobe was now entering a new chapter into his life. Business man. Entrepreneur. Writer. Creative genius. He would go on to invest millions of dollars into the blossoming Body Armor. Kobe Bryant invested 6 million dollars in 2013 with a return of over 400 million in 2021. He would then go on to become a writer, write books for children, and create short-films for the masses. He seemed to embrace his new role in his new life. He was seen as the new Stephen Speilburg post NBA athlete. I was excited for what was to come.
And then this part happened. The part I was really not looking forward to write. The date that shocked the world. The date that we will never forget. The date that changed us basketball fans forever. The date is January 26th, 2020. Kobe said it best. You have to be comfortable with the idea and concept of death. You can’t have one without the other. You cannot have light without dark, and nonetheless you cannot have life without death. He said that it in an interview before his tragic passing. Kobe tragically passed alongside 9 other victims in a helicopter crash that day. The world mourned him, and he also lost his daughter Gianna who was with him in the helicopter on this day. There were many days where I wish that he did not take that helicopter. There were many days where I wish I was in that position hoping we were able to trade places. Many other people felt the same way. Life felt weird without him. I never knew him personally, but I felt as if we were so connected in many ways. If you’re a true Kobe fan, I know you feel the same way. My idol was gone. Like gone gone. It was something that was very difficult for me to accept. Even in this moment, it is very surreal to think that Kobe Bryant is gone. The best way we can honor him is simple. A message that he left for the entire world. Embrace your muse. Embrace your inner “Mamba Mentality”. Which is to be the best version of yourself in whatever field you find yourself in. To apply every practice, every minute, and every moment to the best of your ability in whatever you do in life. To remain poised. To remain centered and attentive. To set high goals and to set a high standard. That is what he left for us. And that is why he will forever be legendary and always be remembered in a great light.
There are many more things that Kobe Bryant accomplished both in his personal and professional basketball career. More than anything, he was a father and a husband. Kobe showed us that you can do anything with limitations. He always taught us to shoot for the stars and aim high. He was a prime example of it. You can do your own research on Kobe Bryant. You can even have your own opinion on Kobe. The greatest of all time is subjective. I’m not here to proclaim that or even try to explain that to you. I just want my guy to get his credit. Give my guy his flowers. Remember him properly. Insert him in that conversation amongst the leagues elite of all time. Insert him in conversations where he elevated the game. Insert him in conversations of one of the best winners of all time. That’s all I want. We as fans seem to fall into the “recency bias” and tend to not pay homage to the players that came before us. I’m hoping that after you read this blog, that there is a level of respect to the legendary Kobe Bryant. “Everything negative-pressure-obstacles, is all an opportunity for me to rise”. Be legendary.
In Honor to the Great Kobe Bryant. Thank you for all of the amazing moments you gave to the world.
From,
Mr. Creator.
Mr.Creator blog 