Kobe Bryant: The Loss Of a A Cultural Icon

These are my words, feelings and emotions. People may disagree and that’s their right.  There are a lot of great things shared regarding Kobe the player and the person. Many will avoid the bad things. I believe it’s okay to address them as long as you do it respectfully. One choice does not always make a man.

Numb! Pain! Sadness! Void! Disbelief! The feelings so many of us had when we saw the report that Kobe Bryant had perished in a helicopter crash. Originally it was thought to be 5 victims, later it was confirmed 9.  In the race to be first over be accurate reports came out that all 4 of Kobe’s daughters were on that helicopter, former-Laker teammate and actor Rick Fox was another people claimed was on that flight. As it turns out one of Kobe’s daughters, Gianna, two of her teammates, three parents, the coach and the pilot were all aboard that flight and there were indeed no survivors. All of this on a flight that could have been avoided.

When my phone first alerted me with a notification from TMZ I thought I had misread the headline. When I realized I hadn’t I was ready to throw my phone down. How could this be? I reached out to two friends, Becca Winkert, Director of WizardsXtra, and Britt McHenry, formerly of ESPN, currently with Fox and noted Kobe fan. To one I said “I can’t believe Kobe’s dead” to which I received an immediate reply back saying “that’s not fucking funny” and it wasn’t and I hated to share that news. To the other I said “OMG Kobe” and that was returned with an “OMG.” 

NO ONE loved the game of basketball more than Kobe. Right now no one loves Kobe more than than the game of basketball. As the hours have gone on millions of us have shared our thoughts and prayers, our memories and our tears, Kobe's death united millions around the world. The players had to play yesterday, the games had to go on as players were find out about the tragedy. Teams took 8 second and 24 second violations to honor Kobe's two jersey numbers. Fitting that the two violations happen to be his jersey numbers. 

While my generation grew up on and emulating Michael Jordan, we grew up WITH Kobe Bryant. Kobe entered the NBA in the entertainment capital of the world, Los Angeles and to the most storied franchise in basketball the Lakers, at 17 years old. A team that, at 17, he essentially forced a draft night trade to. Kobe took R&B star Brandy to prom and since then the sports and entertainment world were enamored with him. 

During Kobe’s rookie year I was a high school freshman, all of 14/15 years old. For many of us out on the basketball court we would do turnarounds and fadeaways and scream “Jordan” as the shot went thru the net (Ed. Note: some of us did that regardless if it went in or not but not me…lies). Kobe studied MJ if you watch video, he did the exact same moves….EXACT SAME MOVES…Mike did. High school to the NBA.  Sure KG had done it the year before and other’s did it the same year as Bryant but Kobe…to many of us Kobe was living a life we dreamed of, Kobe was one of us, but with more skill and better work ethic.

NBA success didn’t come immediately for Kobe. He sat most of his rookie year and didn’t really get the minutes or start putting up large point totals until his third season. By that point Kobe had matured enough as a player to begin his ascent towards NBA superstardom and the rest was history. For nearly 20 years Kobe was the face of the Lakers and a hero and villain taking center stage in the NBA.

I loved watching Kobe play, I couldn’t get enough of it and yet seeing some of these videos I feel like I barely watched him at all. On the court Kobe was a warrior. Never have a I seen a player fight through injuries like he did. Shooting two free throws with a torn Achilles tendon and wanting to go back in the game? Are you kidding me, some players would ask to sit out for a bruised shoulder.

When Kobe and Shaq were beefing I was team Kobe all the way. Shaq to me was just a fatty that got all the calls because of his size. In hindsight it was two alpha males that wanted to assert their dominance who were too bullheaded to get out of their own way. They realized this later in life and while much of it did happen, some was also media driven. The Lakers probably could have won championships for a decade straight, except the series the Kings should have beat them in if it wasn’t for the refs but I digress. Also I read recently he wanted to join the Washington Wizards so if that broke up their dynasty I'd have been fine with it as well.

Then Colorado happened.  I was fully in support of Kobe the whole way. I was total fanboy. I believed it was consensual. I believed she changed her mind during the acts. At the time her unwillingness to testify made me think she was lying. However the only two people that knew what happened were him and her. Personally I was disappointed that a hero of mine had cheated on his wife and put himself in such a position to even have such an accusation made. Then his statement and word of a settlement came out. It soured me on Kobe the person and Kobe the player because I couldn’t differentiate between the two. Plus the way things played out publicly with the ring he bought his wife, I just couldn’t any longer. 

I let this affect my support of Kobe. I wasn't as big of a fan any longer. Still respected the player and enjoyed watching him but just about any negative thing he did pissed me off.  I hated the Lakers and their fans and eventually even just the Kobe fans who felt he could do no wrong. I missed the 81 point game, the most in the modern era and second most in NBA history. It is arguably the greatest individual single game performance in basketball, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 point game due to competition, if not in all of sports. I still haven’t seen that game in its entirety but I will one day.

Of course the scoring records, such as this and total points in their career, also leads to the talk of the Greatest of All-Time wish I could only wish would go away with his passing. Who's the GOAT: MJ, Kobe, or LeBron? Its stupid and dominated social media only hours before his death as Bron passed Kobe on the all-time scoring list. Let’s be real! Comparing eras, even ones that overlap, are unfair to the players. Rules change, styles change, body types change. Neither Jordan nor Kobe met a shot they didn’t want to take nor thing they could hit. All three needed to be surrounded with two or three other players at the top of their game to achieve the ultimate goal. The difference is Jordan couldn’t instruct management how to act, much, due to the CBA. Kobe and Bron had better luck under new CBAs to be surrounded with better talent. However in my opinion Jordan is the GOAT however Kobe is his equal. They are both equally the greatest, of their era and all-time when it comes to scoring the ball and both could rebound and pass though Kobe rarely passed. LeBron is the Magic Johnson. He does a bit of everything but had he not teamed up with Wade and Bosh, he’d have had a better chance of being the overall GOAT. LeBron also has 3 inches on both of them.

Its only fitting that the greatest player from arguably greatest draft class in NBA history, a draft with Allen Iverson, Steve Nash, Ray Allen, Stephon Marbury among others, will be inducted in one of the greatest classes to ever enter the Naismith Hall of Fame this year. Since the day they announced their retirements I had been looking forward to Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and Kobe going in together. I looked forward to the stories that Kobe was going to share, things many of us never heard before, flashing that smile and being self-deprecating. When the enshrinement comes, regardless of who speaks, there will be tears of joy and sadness.

Looking back the past few years I realized that when that took place Kobe was 24.  By 24, if not 22, he was arguably the greatest basketball player in the NBA at that time. He was Kobe Bean Bryant. The toast of the town. No one said no to Kobe. He spoke the romantic languages, he was young, he was attractive, he had it all and he seemingly always got his way. That doesn’t make it right but Kobe like many other celebrities they feel their above the law or that they can get what they want because of who they are. By no means am I trying to tarnish or bash him after the fact. If anything I’m trying to humanize him. He was a God to people on and off the court but he had his sins just like we all do. He made mistakes just like we all do. His played out through the media and through public at 24 years old. In the years that have followed seeing how he raised his girls, how he treated them, and how he handled things after his actions involving the LGBTQ community makes me believe that he learned his lesson and that he atoned and was forgiven for this and I too could forgive Kobe the person.

Another thing I had grown tired of was him throwing his teammates under the bus, demanding who stays and who goes. Franchise player or not that’s not your call, after all what kind of leader are you? When Kobe retired I had taken on a new position at my company. I had been a leader, now I was THE leader. I had my frustrations, I had my ways of trying to motivate, I had my ways of how I handled things. At that time I realized Kobe put everything into basketball just like I’ve done my 15 years at my job. Kobe tried to lead by example. Kobe wanted THE BEST out of those around him because if they couldn’t give that effort they were holding him back, they were holding his team back. You can’t reach maximum success if everyone is not giving the effort they need. There’s time for joking around and what not but when its work time, it’s serious! You give your effort and if you’re not doing enough you put in the extra time to make it right. That wasn’t immaturity, that was maturity, maybe not handled correctly but handled the way he knew how. That’s Mamba Mentality.

What gets lost is that not enough positive press is given while he was living or at least it doesn't make the social media circuit as much as the juicy negative stuff.  The teaching that Kobe gave the younger players starting as far back as the Redeem Team and thru secret camps Kobe held in the off-season.  Give the secrets out once you're retired so that they can't use it against you while you're playing...GENIUS. A student of the game from the beginning to the end, he learned and adapted and taught. Stories are being shared about how Kobe learned and made things happen that he envisioned is truly astonishing. Kobe was like the guy in A Beautiful Mind. His brain just worked differently than everyone else. That’s why he was successful on and off the court. I think Kobe tried to mask himself from the parts of the world and at times may have been understood because of he was unique.

There is another downside to Kobe’s passing. As someone whose hobby is sports card and memorabilia collecting I’ve always had a vested interest in Kobe, among other players. I’m not one to necessarily sell the items but it could be a nice nest egg when I get older.  Hours after the crash, sharing stories with other fellow collectors I decided to check ebay to see what the market was dictating after the news. Firstly people that use such a tragedy to profit make me sick. Secondly the phrase “a fool and their money are soon parted” tends to take shape in such situations.  Trading cards of Kobe, even without autos, would be selling 10X their regular selling price. Licensed autographed pieces would double or triple in value. Non-certified autos, some of which are most likely fake were selling in the hundreds. People that don’t know can easily get taken for a ride. At the same time there will be these buyers that will purchase these items and then say they never received the item so that they don’t have to spend the money and they get the item, sometimes with the intent to resell. I also decided to check Fanatics to see about purchasing a Kobe Bryant jersey. To my surprise Fanatics had Kobe jerseys for $300 while players like Shaq and Magic, which were the same style jersey, were under $100.  I’m only left to wonder if Fanatics chose to raise their price after the tragedy, I wish I had checked soon after news broke to confirm my suspicions but given some other issues with them I wouldn’t be surprised and if so that’s despicable.  

Kobe had so many dreams of things he wanted to accomplish in sports, entertainment and beyond during his retirement and he was doing that. Most importantly he was going to be there for his four girls and his wife. Kobe died on the way to do something he loved. Be with his 13 year-old Gigi as she went to play basketball and he could implore his wisdom and guidance upon the young lady who dreamed of carrying the Bryant name that her grandfather had made as a pro, that her father had established as a pro and she hoped to craft someday in the WNBA.

 

Thank you Kobe for the gift you gave fans, for the commitment you made to the game of basketball, the generation you inspired and the example you set for your daughters. Thank you Vanessa, Gianna, Natalia, Bianka and Capri for sharing your husband and father with so many of us. His legacy will live on through the stories we share and the lives that you live.