Kobe Bryant; 5 Years of Remembrance

Kobe Bryant, The Black Mamba, passed away 5 years ago today in a helicopter crash with his daughter Giannia Bryant. Kobe is considered one of the best basketball players to ever play. He has three statues outside of Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles, where he spent his whole career. Kobe did not go to college and went straight from high school to the league in 1996. He was selected 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets, but was traded on draft night to the Lakers for Vlade Divac (an NBA All-Star and 2019 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee). Kobe is known for his Mamba mentality and drive to be the greatest to ever play. He was a superstar even from a young age. In fact, he was the youngest player to ever start a NBA game when he played Dallas on January 28th, 1997. Kobe gave many inspirational interviews on his career and pursuing your passion. I have two personal favorites. The first is about how he played through an injury when his team really needed a win against a talented opponent: “We had a game against Toronto in 2000, and Vince was tearing the league up. My back was jacked. But the perception of that, Kobe is missing a game against Toronto and Vince Carter. Man, my back was really having spasms. But people would have looked at me like, ‘Oh, he’s duckin’ Vince.’ Excuse me? No, I don’t think so. So I would be in the layup line like, ‘Okay, there are a lot of days when you can rest and recover. Today ain’t one of them. He’s gonna have to see me today.” The second is about what propelled him to shoot clutch free throws late in a game against the Warriors in 2013 after tearing his achilles on a reverse lay-up: "I tell this example, and I think this is the best way to explain it. You have a hamstring injury, you pull your hamstring really, really badly. You can barely walk, let alone play anything... soccer, basketball, volleyball whatever it is, you can't do anything. Doctor tells you to go home, sit up on the couch and rest your hammy. Stay off of it, don't get up, and no sudden moments. You're at home and all of a sudden a fire breaks out in the home. Your kids are upstairs, your wife is wherever she may be, and you know [it]’s going down. I'm willing to bet that you're going to forget about your hamstring, you're going to sprint upstairs, you're gonna grab your kids, you're gonna make sure your wife's good, you're getting outta the house. Hamstring be [darn]ed. You're not going to feel your hamstring and the reason is because the lives of your family are more important than the injury of your hamstring. And so when the game is more important than the injury itself, you don't feel that [darn] injury." Kobe inspired many including Jayson Tatum and Jalen Williams (two modern day stars), and his legacy continues to inspire many today, even though he is no longer with us.