Kobe Bryant: A Sporting Hero
- Apr 14, 2016
- 5 min read
Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba. As infamous as famous. Loved by many and hated by more. A cold blooded assassin. One of the most willing competitors to ever dominate any kind of sport and one of the greatest basketball players ever to grace the hardwood.
His legend is as great as any, including Michael Jordan, and his legacy has transcended generations. Fathers watching Kobe with their son in ’96 will be the same ones watching his final game against Utah today with their grandchildren. They’ve been on the same 20 year journey as Kobe, just from an armchair, an armchair that has been a series of extreme satisfaction.
His almost unsurpassed list of accolades - league MVP in 2008, 18x All-Star (consecutively), 15x All-NBA selections, 9x All-Defensive First Team, 2x NBA Finals MVP, 5x NBA champion and eye popping statistics - 30,000+ points, 6,000+ assists, 6,000+ rebounds speaks volumes of his ability but doesn’t scratch the surface about what makes Kobe, Kobe. What really makes this man who he is his dedication. His evolution from High School phenom, to perpetual champion, to future First Ballot Hall of Famer would not have been possible without his once in a generation ferocity and his utter desire and desperation to be the best.
"I got a phone call from a blocked number the day after Labor Day. It's 11 p.m. and it's Kobe, and he wanted to know if I would help him on the court at 5:30 a.m. I told him I'll be there, and I show up at 5:20 a.m. thinking I'm early, and he's already in a full sweat. He had hired a guy just to stretch him out that year and to show him different ways to do active warm-ups, so he had already done that and lifted weights. He's in a full sweat 10 minutes before we're supposed to meet and ready to go. That's when I realized 5:30 a.m. meant 4:45 a.m. with Kobe. When we were done, he went and had a track workout. When he was done with track, he had a core workout, and then I met him that night at UC Irvine to get some more shots in. I've never seen anyone work like that. His hunger to be the best is unmatched." - Rasheed Hazzard, former Lakers scout.
He is the definition of a competitive beast. He is an unparalleled and impossible mental force, “He's a very confident individual. I can't believe how talented he is mentally” Cedric Ceballos in 1996. The first man in the gym and last man out for 20 grinding years. Not once has Kobe ever left anything out there. Not after air balling 4 crucial shots in the 1997 Western Conference Semis. Not after losing two finals series’ in 4 years after being told he’ll never be a winner without Shaq and not after snapping his achilles at the age of 34 and most people questioning why he’s going on. Kobe is the most determined athlete to grace the earth. At every hurdle, the Black Mamba has succeeded and never let anything keep him down.
Even after 20 seasons in the NBA with an ageing body starting to give way he can still barely stand to let it go. In the teary farewell he penned to his fans he made it pretty clear ”My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind. But my body knows it's time to say goodbye. And that's OK. I'm ready to let you go. I want you to know now, so we both can savour every moment we have left together." Its because he feels like he’s letting his fans, himself but most importantly to him, basketball, down. What he can’t see is that nobody, basketball included, could ask any more of a one man.
His peers, before and after him, respect him and hold him in the utmost regard, he is a hero to them and his fan following around the world has seen him be the top vote getting All-Star on 4 occasions. Kobe’s legacy blankets cultures, nationalities, upbringings, faith, everything- he is all of those things in a way unto himself.
"Kobe, he's someone that I've looked up to ever since I came into the league. Someone that always gave me advice about my game, just coming into the league. He's seen how hard I worked and for him and all his accolades and his résumé. I think that he's leaving the game in some good hands. You've got Steph playing well, you've got a whole bunch of guys that's right behind him giving their all to the game. And just for Kobe himself, he's going to be a legend no matter what. He's our (generation's) Michael Jordan.”- Bulls Guard, Derrick Rose.
"In high school I wore a nappy-ass Afro because of Kobe Bryant. I wanted to be just like him, man. And I always said my inspiration came from Jordan, but I always thought Jordan was so out of this world that I could never get there. Kobe was someone that I just always kind of wanted to be like and play like. I knew I had to be better because of Kobe Bryant. I knew he was in the gym and I knew he was working on his game. And I knew he was great. So every day that I didn't want to work out or every day I felt like I couldn't give more, I always thought of Kobe. Because I knew that he was getting better." - Cavs Superstar, LeBron James.
I have been a fan of Kobe from the first time I ever saw him play basketball, a 4 year old kid absolutely awestruck by his prowess. He made me want to be the best basketballer I could possibly be. His drive drove me and 18 years later still does. In every part of life. The way Kobe goes about his job is the way everybody should go about life, to never let anything keep you down or anyone tell you that you can’t achieve something.
His passion instills others’ passion and he is exemplary in his drive to succeed. But, this is where he leaves us, 1,501 games, nearly 60,000 blood, sweat and tear filled minutes later, and the sporting world is forever indebted to his greatness, permanently thankful for not only what he did for basketball but what he did for men, women and children all around the world.
"When my career is over, I want (fans) to think of me as an overachiever despite the talent that I have. To think of me as a person that's overachieved, that would mean a lot to me. That means I put a lot of work in and squeezed every ounce of juice out of this orange that I could. Hopefully, they perceive me as a person who did whatever he had to do to win, above all else. Above anything. Above stats. If they say that about me, I'll be happy." - Kobe Bryant. A sporting hero and forever a legend.
Although his stellar career is now over, in true Mamba style, Kobe had to remind as all one last time what we are losing. While the new King of the Court, Steph Curry, was guiding the Warriors to a record breaking 73 win season, dropping 46 points in 3 quarters, Kobe had it in him to give us one last Mamba performance. 60 points, 23 in the 4th quarter. 2 clutch free throws. 1 go ahead jump shot. Mamba, out.
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