From his fans, he inspired devotion. From rivals, frustration and grudging respect. For the young athletes who admired him, he spawned countless imitators.
The world was stunned Sunday by the news that Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players of all time whose cultural relevance transcended the court, had died in a helicopter crash at the age of 41 along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other people.
Throughout a 20-year NBA career and beyond, Bryant’s on-court exploits and charisma grew beyond the realm of sport into popular culture. While he was known for being the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history and for reigniting the Lakers dynasty with titles in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2010, the name “Kobe” was synonymous with ruthless competitive edge and tireless work ethic by the time he retired in 2016.
Bryant was known as an individualist and a perfectionist, someone whose particular habits and standards would at times grate on teammates. But he won championships, and along the way, he rallied a legion of devoted fans who admired his willfulness and devotion to the game.
“We’ve been through our ups and been through our downs,” he said after his last game on April 13, 2016, when he scored 60 points in a memorable farewell. “And I think the important thing is we stayed together throughout.”
Throughout the NBA, Bryant’s death created an emotional void that seemed impossible to fill. Several teams, including the Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics and New Orleans Pelicans ran out the first possession of their games with shot-clock violations, waiting for 24 seconds in honor of Bryant’s second jersey number.
Television cameras caught hardened veterans red-eyed with tears leaking down their faces. Others including Lonzo Ball and P.J. Tucker had written tributes to Kobe on their shoes. Kyrie Irving, who considered Bryant a mentor, didn’t play at all, reportedly leaving Madison Square Garden before the New Jersey Nets’ game against the New York Knicks, after learning of Bryant’s death.
Even now, years after Bryant played, the Lakers franchise is indelibly stamped by Bryant’s legacy. He was a close friend and confidante of team owner Jeanie Buss. General manager Rob Pelinka was Bryant’s agent. Bryant’s picture decorates both the Lakers’ El Segundo facility and the Staples Center – where his two jersey numbers, 8 and 24, hang above the seats. He’s the only player in NBA history to have two jerseys retired by one franchise.
In the halls of NBA arenas everywhere, Kobe’s name was one uttered in reverence. As news of his death spread, the most powerful figures in sport, as well as former president Barack Obama, were moved to share messages of grief. Michael Jordan, perhaps Bryant’s defining idol, said “Words can’t describe the pain I’m feeling,” calling Bryant “a little brother to me” and “a creative force.”
“This loss, it’s just hard to comprehend,” said Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of Bryant’s peers among all-time Laker greats, in a video on social media. “Kobe’s gone.”
Magic Johnson tweeted that he cried all morning.
“It’s hard to accept. Kobe was a leader of our game, a mentor to both male and female players,” Johnson also tweeted. “He was such an icon but also did so much for LA. He was passionate about serving the homeless and was an advocate for women’s basketball. Coaching his daughter’s basketball team brought him so much happiness.”
Bryant was born Aug. 23, 1978, in Philadelphia to former NBA player Joe Bryant and Pam Cox. He became a prep star at Lower Merion High School outside of the city. Bryant idolized Jordan, imitating his moves and footwork throughout his basketball career. He was drafted No. 13 overall by the Charlotte Hornets directly out of high school and traded on draft night to the Lakers, his childhood favorite franchise.
Starting his career at just 17 years old, the 6-foot-6 guard quickly became a favorite among Lakers fans, and eventually, the star pairing of Bryant and center Shaquille O’Neal led to a run of three straight championships between 2000 and 2002, considered one of the great NBA dynasties of all time.
The Lakers went through lean years in the middle of the decade after feuding between Bryant and O’Neal resulted in the Lakers trading away the big man to Miami. Bryant also faced off-court challenges, being charged with sexual assault in 2003 from an incident in a Colorado hotel (criminal charges were later dropped and settled in civil court).
It was during this time that Bryant changed numbers, from 8 to 24, and his image, adopting the “Black Mamba” persona which he felt defined his competitive spirit and emboldened him to become a self-described “villain” of the NBA. After the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol, Bryant went on to lead the team to two more back-to-back championships, in 2009 and 2010. Whereas he had been seen as a wingman to O’Neal during those earlier championships, this time Bryant was front and center, winning Finals MVP in both series.
Bryant won the league’s regular-season MVP award in 2008, and was an 18-time All-Star and a 15-time All-NBA honoree. He won two gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics with Team USA. He once scored 81 points in a single game in 2006, which is the second-most in NBA history. He also was renowned for toughness: In 2013 after rupturing his Achilles tendon, an injury that signaled the downswing of his career, he gathered himself long enough to make a pair of free throws before hobbling off the court.
While his later career was beset by such injuries, Bryant was healthy enough to play in the 2015-16 season, where rival franchises honored him with lavish tribute videos. Continuing to play as his body broke down served, in one sense, to enhance his legend.
It culminated in his final game, in which he became the oldest player in NBA history to record a 60-point game, punctuated with the immortal words, “Mamba out,” before placing the microphone on the court and walking off for good.
Bryant was in his first year of eligibility to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame. The class of 2020 will be announced next month at the NBA’s All-Star Weekend in Chicago.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver called Bryant one of “the most extraordinary players in the history of our game” and said in a statement: “Kobe showed us what is possible when remarkable talent blends with an absolute devotion to winning.”
In his retirement, Bryant had embraced writing and creating films, winning an Academy Award for his project “Dear Basketball” in 2016. He helped author young adult fiction novels and programming. Bryant was also famously regarded as an intellect, speaking several languages (including Italian, where he spent part of his childhood) fluently and reading voraciously. As a father of four, Bryant also took pride in coaching Gianna’s youth teams and spoke of her desire to play in the WNBA.
Still, in retirement, Bryant’s advice was sought out and taken as gospel by players. He founded Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, where many players from rec-level to NBA luminaries spent the last offseason playing pick-up.
The Lakers had yet to release a statement on Sunday night out of respect for Vanessa Bryant and their three surviving children: Natalia, Bianka and Capri. Franchise officials had met with the Bryant family on Sunday. The Lakers players learned of the news on a team plane from Philadelphia on Sunday morning and were devastated — NBC4 Los Angeles gathered a scene of LeBron James walking off the tarmac, wiping his face with a tissue.
Bryant had attended two Lakers games this season, sitting courtside with Gianna and receiving roaring standing ovations in Staples Center when he flashed on the screen. One of the most striking bits of cruel irony was that the Lakers and their fans had spent the week freshly evaluating and remembering Bryant’s legacy, as James prepared to and eventually did pass Bryant on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Bryant publicly congratulated James on Twitter on Saturday night as one of his contemporaries passed the milestone at Wells Fargo Center in Bryant’s hometown of Philadelphia. Immediately after the game, James had not spoken to Bryant yet, but said he expected to soon. He admired Bryant’s willingness to come to Staples Center as a spectator with his daughter.
“It’s a pretty cool thing to see him and see GiGi at the games,” James said. “It’s a brotherhood being a part of the Lakers franchise. We all root for one another, no matter past, present or future.”
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