(“The TEN” is not a top ten but ten items worth being included in “The TEN”) Kobe Bryant Edition:
With the tragic death of Kobe Bryant at the age of 41 and his daughter Gianna last January 26th in a helicoptor crash our “One Year Ago” series is dedicated to the LA icon in this edition of “The TEN”.
1. Kobe Bryant won five NBA championships with the Lakers, the last being in 2010 in seven games against the Boston Celtics. Bryant won his second straight NBA Finals MVP.
2. Bryant won one NBA MVP Award – in 2008.
3. Bryant scored 33,643 points in his career which is currently fourth on the NBA all-time list.
4. Bryant played 20 years with the Lakers – from 1996 to 2016.
5. Bryant made the NBA All-Star team 18 times in his 20 year career and was the MVP of the All-Star game four times.
6. On January 22, 2006 Bryant scored 81 points in a 122-104 win over the Toronto Raptors, which was the second-highest point total in NBA history, surpassed only by Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 point game in 1962.
7. In his last NBA game on April 13, 2016 Bryant scored 60 points in a 101-96 win over the Utah Jazz. He became the oldest player to score 60 or more points in a game at 37 years and 234 days old.
8. In 2018 Bryant won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his film “Dear Basketball”.
9. Bryant has numbers 8 and 24 retired by the Los Angeles Lakers.
10. “The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.” – Kobe Bryant.
Kobe’s work ethic and “Mamba Mentality” will live on for generations to come. It’s up to us coaches, teachers, and parents to instill this in our youth and use him as thee example. You are missed
Kobe wasn’t my favorite Laker of all time. That honor belongs to Magic Johnson. Still, he was an icon to anyone who loves sports. I didn’t want to believe the news when I first heard about it on Sunday. Once I realize it was true, I shed a few tears. Even sadder after learning his protege daughter was with him and also lost her life. In my fifties, there has only been two other times I felt this kind of shock and helplessness, when the space shuttle Challenger exploded and 09/11. RIP Kobe and Gianna, you will be missed.
The thing I will always remember about Kobe is not his great natural talent, but the work he put into maximizing that talent. It was this player’s work ethic that impressed Jerry West, and caused Mr. Clutch to do whatever it took to make him a Laker. On a personal note, I simply cannot believe he’s gone. Maybe in a week or two I will have processed this, but for now I’m in shock.
Greatness