I still remember where I was when Kobe Bryant was drafted. It was 1996 and I was nine years old. It was the summer before 4th grade, and I had just started really watching the game. The NBA Draft was on TNT, and after the first few picks, I got bored and restless; not out of the ordinary for a grade schooler. I decided to go to my backyard and put up some shots, something I never did as often as I should have. After some time, I eventually made my way back into the house to catch the rest of the first round.
With the 13th pick, the Charlotte Hornets selected the teenage phenom from Philly that many had heard about, but not everyone had seen. He never made it to the Queen City, however, as he was sent almost immediately to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for starting center Vlade Divac. Many may not have known it at the time, but this was the summer that would change the shape of the NBA for the next two decades. Aside from the fact the 1996 NBA Draft is now looked at as one of the most loaded classes in league history, roughly three weeks later, the Lakers made another historic move - acquiring a prime Shaquille O'Neal.
As a rookie, Kobe didn't play much, averaging a mere 15.5 minutes per game, but when he finally got his opportunity to shine on the big stage, he seized it.
During what was a milestone All-Star Weekend in Cleveland in 1997, as the league prepared to honor it's 50 greatest players during their golden anniversary, it now seems fitting that the man who would become one of the faces of the league had his coming out party.
Not only did he drop 31 points in the Rookie Challenge - back when the game was composed solely of rookies - but he took home the Slam Dunk Championship while his high school prom date Brandy cheered him on from the stands. Yes, THAT Brandy. Not to get too off track, but can we just let that marinate for a second? This man was big enough in high school to somehow manage to take one of the biggest R&B singers of the 90's at the peak of her fame to his high school prom.
If that was the highlight of Kobe's rookie season, the lowlight would come three months later. With the Lakers down 3-1 in the second round of the playoffs to the Utah Jazz, Kobe shot not one, but FOUR airballs in overtime and the Jazz eliminated the Lakers to advance to the Western Conference Finals. The loss, and his subpar performance, ate at Kobe. So much so that he turned down what would have been an iconic role as Jesus Shuttlesworth in director Spike Lee's He Got Game, which eventually went to his draft classmate, Ray Allen. When Lee offered Kobe the part he said "Thanks, but no thanks. This summer is too big for me."
Instead of spending his summer on set, he spent it in the lab. He came back the next season and became the youngest player ever to start an All-Star game. What made the feat even more impressive was that he wasn't even a starter on his own team. One of four Laker All-Stars that year - along with O'Neal, Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel - Kobe spent his sophomore season as the Lakers' sixth man. The following summer, Van Exel was traded, and midway through the season, Jones followed leaving Kobe as the second star to the dominant O'Neal.
Newly hired head coach Phil Jackson guided the team through the playoffs, and after a grueling seven-game series with the Portland Trail Blazers, the Lakers captured their first championship of the Shaq & Kobe era, dispatching the Indiana Pacers in six games. The following two years would give basketball fans of my generation some very memorable battles with the Sacramento Kings.
Growing up a Golden State Warriors fan during the Chris Cohan era, I never had a vested interest during playoff time since the team was never good enough to qualify. I just watched the games that were on and enjoyed them for what they were. When the Kings, our NorCal neighbors, became a playoff contender, it made things a little more interesting.
It was during the Lakers' battles with the Kings that I began to loathe Kobe. As an adolescent, you don't truly have a full grasp of your emotions. You hate the guy because he's killing your team. At times, you can become a fanboy, throwing all logic in the trash. As you get older, your brain develops and, ideally, your outlook is more mature and realistic. The older I got, the more I appreciated and respected Kobe.
I appreciated how fiercely he competed. I appreciated the beauty of his game. I appreciated the maniacal work ethic that he possessed, which we all later came to know as the "Mamba Mentality." I appreciated him because I knew that greatness like his was not something that comes around very often. At 32 years of age, I have been spoiled enough to see the best of Michael Jordan, Kobe and LeBron James. Their names will forever be linked in the endless "GOAT" debate until the end of time.
Just as I will never forget where I was when Kobe entered my basketball consciousness, I will never forget where I was when I learned of his untimely passing. I was in a parking lot in Daly City waiting to set up for a friend's baby shower when my wife got a message from a friend. She turned and asked me if it was true Kobe had died in a helicopter crash. I almost laughed because of how far fetched it sounded. As I opened up Twitter and saw report after report from multiple legitimate sources, the initial dismissive look on my face quickly faded. I sat there stunned, not knowing how to react. As has been a popular sentiment from many in my age group, this just hit different.
While my generation may have caught Jordan's last three-peat, we weren't blessed enough to fully enjoy young MJ. We literally grew up with Kobe. We saw him blossom from a teen sensation into a superstar sidekick and win three titles with Shaq. We saw him grow out of that role, shed his figurative skin in the form of his number 8 jersey, and re-emerge as the Black Mamba in number 24. We saw him form his own identity and lead the Lakers to two more championships. We saw him fight Father Time as his body betrayed him toward the end of his career, but not before giving us one last magical performance, dropping 60 points in his final game. We saw him bid farewell to the game - and earn an Oscar for it - in Dear Basketball. We saw him enjoying fatherhood, sharing priceless moments with his daughter, Gianna - who also unfortunately perished in the crash - as they bonded over their love of the game. We should all feel blessed to have seen these things.
As his former teammate Brian Shaw stated following Kobe's passing, "We made a lot of memories together. When they're gone, all that you'll have are the memories that you made while they were here."
Unfortunately, there will be no more new memories. While we remain here to grow into the rest of our lives, Kobe won't be here to grow with us. He has, however, given us a lifetime of memories, words, and lessons to live by. If you find yourself struggling with life's challenges, whether old or new, you can always look back to some of them for inspiration:
"I want to see if I can. I don't know if I can. I want to find out. I want to see. I'm going to do what I always do: I'm going to break it down to its smallest form, smallest detail, and go after it. Day by day, one day at a time."
- Kobe Bean Bryant (August 23, 1978 - January 26, 2020)
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