But beyond the baseline, he was also a dad and a husband. Bryant passed away at 41 with his year-old daughter, second of four, Gianna, her two teammates, their parents, coach and the pilot of his helicopter Sunday morning. They were all on their way to Mamba Basketball Camp, where they were all in attendance the day before.
Kobe would coach and Gianna would play, fulfilling his fatherly duties. Bryant took the helicopter to avoid Los Angeles traffic, and to spend more time with his family. He was one of the most polarizing, talented, and inspirational figures in the history of sports — and the reason why many of us fell in love with basketball.
Through this global heartbreak, legends live forever. This shows extreme perseverance. If you take that same level of loyalty and apply it to your craft, to your teams, to your clients, you will also create success. Kobe would train longer and with more attention to detail than anyone else. Shaq even commented that Kobe practiced all his moves without a ball, for hours, visualizing and physically doing the work. The stories about his dedication are legendary.
The kinds of tales that Gary V would be proud of. Stories of how he was always soaked in sweat by 5 a. Stories of how, throughout his career, he never let anyone beat him into the gym and definitely never let anyone leave after him. Stories of how, on game days, he always made sure to have makes before tip-off.
Kobe did the work--his work ethic was insane. Your passion and energy always shine through. If you want something, you will do the work. Both were beyond comprehension, the first one a pleasant surprise, the latter a terrible shock. Yet, between that beginning and end was a meaty middle that blossomed and developed into a basketball story for a generation.
Kobe Bryant fulfilled all the initial promise, and did so spectacularly. Because of that, his departure was all the more devastating. As a sports journalist who first became aware of him early, and then followed him from varying distances over the next two decades, my seat was, at different times: in the front row, in the gym, on the sofa watching TV and in the hallway at Lower Merion High School.
In each case, I was always transfixed by the player, the young man, the adult and the competitor — how could anyone not be? In a city filled with A-listers, Kobe had ownership of Los Angeles throughout the s and became bedroom wallpaper for scores of kids who slept with basketballs. That last talent, which came well before the basketball skills, is what he used as a high school senior to impress a reporter for his first national interview.
Relive the best of Kobe Bryant in these behind-the-scenes moments, collected throughout an amazing year career. The night before, Kobe suited up for Lower Merion, a public school surrounded by McMansions in the suburbs, and carried his teammates, a bunch of future Wall Streeters and attorneys, to victory in a gym that was half-filled and would be virtually empty if not for him.
His father, Joe Bryant , briefly an energetic forward on a swashbuckling and undisciplined Sixers team in the s, finished his pro career in Italy and took the family with him. Kobe quickly learned the strange language in middle school and fell in love with the charms of the country: the food, customs, Florence and Rome, of course. Many years later, he named his daughters Natalia with the Italian pronunciation , Capri after the island off the coast , Bianka and Gianna. After 45 minutes, the interview was over, and three days later, the story appeared in a newspaper in New York, a city that reacted with a shrug.
The NBA had a love-hate with the concept of the straight-to-the-pros route. Kobe was a skinny 6-foot And not everyone in the league devoured the hype. The hometown Sixers, holding the No. From there, Arn Tellum, a powerful agent in the league, manipulated the draft to get his client away from the rebuilding teams and to the Lakers.
He told the Nets, who showed the most interest, not to bother, that Kobe would refuse to play, and the Nets called his bluff. The Hornets took Kobe at No. Kobe was a Laker for life. Kobe Bryant quickly made a mark on the league during his debut season in Kobe played well, although mostly against C-grade competition. Before training camp, he broke his wrist, incredibly from playing pickup ball by the beach against a bunch of star-struck Joes.
He came to practice ready to go. His three point shooting would create space for Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol to operate. The Lakers offense will go through the post whether Bryant is on board or not. So it would behoove him to find a way to contribute that does not include taking 20 plus shots a night.
Kobe for the better part of his career has avoided volume three point shooting, only attempting more than once in 15 year career. This is no longer an effective option for him because of his quickness or lack thereof. Adding or incorporating a three point shot to his repertoire changes his value to the Lakers tremendously. His focus could turn to creating space for his teammates and getting open shots for them. This would make his parlay to the basket less likely to meet resistance and his body would take less punishment.
Since Bryant has started all 82 games only four times in his career less is more. Changing his game is just a minuscule part of what Bryant will need to do this upcoming season.
The most important adjustment is growth, he most display his growth as a person as well as a player. It is imperative that he embrace the new offense that Coach Brown plans to instill, even if it does not make him the first option. In practice Bryant must be vocal in his support and demand the same attention to detail that has provided him five championship rings.
His support cannot waiver in times of struggle his discipline and focus most be steadfast. It will not be enough for him to go through the motions, he must trust this offense with the belief it will lead him to his sixth ring. This is not going to happen but needs to.
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