Ahhh. Kobe.  An icon of his time now enmeshed in popular culture forever.  For all the celebrity worship in society, Kobe reached heights of fame few ever do.  He’ll be remembered like Jordan, Prince, Madonna, Herve Villechaize. For decades and decades to come, people all over the world will say his name in tribute as they throw their rolled up balls of paper away.  Now, I can’t offer any profound insight into Kobe that you couldn’t read somewhere else. I didn’t know the man. But I can try to offer some sense of measurement of the impact he’s made.

I was not yet even 16 when Kobe started making his first waves.  Heard there was another high school kid that was gonna follow KG and might be better.  His dad played in the league. Brandy’s his prom date. Back then, I didn’t enjoy my current elite nba insider status so it was a surprise to me when the Lakers traded Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 NBA Draft to select Kobe Bryant with the 13th pick.  Vlade was the lovable goof that never lived up to expectations but you happily rooted for him. He was athlete Balki. But I had already drank the Kobe Bomb. I was thrilled that we got this ceiling defying talent. Like drafting Griffey Jr.  

*Quick note on why Kobe fell to 13th.  It was pure agent-player power plays. John Calipari had just become the Nets new head coach and wanted to draft Bryant with the 8th pick.  Apparently Arn Tellem, Kobe’s agent and current vice chairman for the Pistons and Sonny Vaccaro, famed Adidas honcho (and Youngstown State grad) spread the rumor that Kobe would go play in Italy instead of “your team” to many franchises.  He also refused to work out for many teams. From the beginning, Kobe didn’t care what you thought.  

Over the years, Kobe had his moments and they were in the thick of the limelight.  The 4 airballs in an elimination playoff game against the Jazz his rookie year. It showed even as a rookie he wanted to take the big shot, but could he make it?  His next year he was voted in as an All Star, the youngest in history on the strength of a 15-3-2? Veterans were riled at this young diva who hadn’t earned anything. This was probably true then but I don’t think anyone today would dare suggest Kobe didn’t earn what he has now.  There were the triumphs with Shaq and the troubles with Shaq which ended with Kobe outlasting him at the top of the Lakers player hierarchy.  

And there was Colorado in 2003.  That year indelibly affected Kobe and his legacy.  He made a mistake (the extremeness of which is where the rub lies) and for the first time his villainy on the basketball court became his reputation off of it.  It was one of those trespasses that muddled with rumor, many can never recover from. Kobe had his 81 point game and 2 more titles after that, yet for many, he could no longer be great.

But when Kobe’s life was tragically taken on January 26th, 2020, the nation and the world got to see how far he had come.  He had become a champion for women’s basketball and teaching young athletes with the Mamba Sports Academy launched in 2018. He coached his daughter’s basketball team and his multimedia production company produced videos and series aimed at educating children even starting the creation of his own vision of “if the Olympics and Harry Potter had a baby.” - a sports fantasy universe.

It was Kobe as he ever was. Always pushing the limits, proving that a person could do whatever they set their mind to. Kobe’s was a life well lived but cut short. A reminder, whether we wanted it or not, that you have a short time to live on this earth so make every moment count and be that person you always dreamed of being. .