Kobe Bryant tragically lost his life along with his daughter Gianna on Sunday in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
Where do you begin to talk about the impact that man had?
The 41-year-old had already immortalised himself with a legendary basketball career, but he was much more than the sport.
More than the five NBA Championships he brought to the Lakers – the only franchise he ever played for with 20 years service.
More than his MVP award. More than his two Olympic gold medals. More than 18 All Star appearances and countless other individual accolades.
Kobe was a mentality. He was an inspiration. There are many players in the world that are good, even great. But none of them had the Mamba Mentality to be the first in the gym and to squeeze every last drop of greatness out of themselves.
The shooting guard was a household name and brought in generations of fans with his other worldly drive and talent. He didn’t just create Lakers fans, he created basketball fans.
His tragic death, at the age of 41, happened just one day after LeBron James passed him in the NBA’s all-time scoring list, pushing the Lakers legend down to fourth place. Ironically, James did so while also playing for the Lakers, but in only his second season.
Kobe’s determination to win superseded everything else. He wasn’t above talking his opponents. He’d play mind-games if it was called for. He had a strong mental game that precious few could touch or invade.
Match that with his freakish athleticism and skill? He was damn near unstoppable in his prime.
Even after a devastating achilles injury which has halted many careers in the past, Kobe still managed to play on for three more years before his retirement tour in 2016.
In his final game, he dropped 60 points at the Staples Center against the Utah Jazz. Sixty, god damn, points. He couldn’t have written something better.
He was the ultimate ‘you love him if he on your team, but hate him if he’s against you’ player. He was a true professional who kept himself in the best condition possible and wasn’t afraid to tell his teammates who he felt wasn’t giving him the same effort.
When he and Shaquille O’Neal won three championships in a row at the turn of the millennium, it was Kobe – barely 20 years old – that wasn’t afraid to tell the seven-foot superstar O’Neal that he wasn’t pulling his weight.
In 2004, Bryant was the one who remained in LA and O’Neal headed for Miami. There was only ever going to be one winner in that shoot-out.
The standard of excellent Kobe held himself too reflected on everything he touched, and that goes for the Lakers and the NBA as a whole. Even in retirement, the name Kobe Bryant meant hard work and inspiration to a lot of people. That became a part of American culture.
He even won an Oscar for Best Animated Short. After retiring. Kobe was never going to kick his feet up on his porch. Whatever discipline he applied himself to, he was going to be great, and it didn’t take him long to prove that.
If there was anyone that deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labour in this world, it was Kobe Bryant. He maximised every advantage he had and worked tirelessly to be the best version of himself. In doing so, he leaves behind him a legacy that proves you can achieve the greatest goals if you’re prepare to work harder than anybody else for it.
A generation of basketball players embody him. Even for all of Kobe’s money and fan, fans identified with him because he put in the same grind that everyone else goes through.
He’s the kind of person and player that made everybody around him better – you’ll see countless stories attesting to that in the coming days.
That earned him the respect of his competitors. That was on clear display when the San Antonio Spurs and the Toronto Raptors met the day he died.
There will never be another like him. Rest in peace, Kobe and Gianna Bryant.
