The Death of NBA Legend Kobe Bryant

Wednesday, January 29th.

On Sunday, January 26th, the world was shocked and saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Los Angeles Laker Kobe Byrant, his daughter Gianna ("Gigi"), and 7 other precious souls in a helicopter crash during heavy fog in the hills of Calabasas.  I was notified via an alert on my phone, and when I read it, I was in a state of shock.  Most celebrities are like us in many ways, who live out their lives and grow old. However, when a sports legend dies so young, and one who brought joy and happiness to many who follow the NBA and the powerful brand that is the Los Angeles Lakers, it was heartbreaking.

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Kobe Bryant was the first thrust into the public consciousness in the late '90s, when as a senior at Lower Marion High School in Philadelphia, he spurned going to college and headed towards the NBA.  It was a brash decision that many claimed was arrogance on top of being a basketball prodigy.  Going from high school basketball to playing in one of the most financially successful and popular professional leagues in the world, one with a huge cultural imprint, and where most players make tens of millions per year, is pretty brazen. Mr. Bryant even attended to his senior prom with pop star Brandi, which brought a contingent of paparazzi.  Kobe was thrust (by his own doing, I might add) into the public fishbowl, and his time in the spotlight was marked by success on the basketball court, a controversial and socially divisive sexual assault allegation and court case, followed by more success without his partner and fellow NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal.  His playing career included 2 Olympic Gold medals, 18 NBA All-Star appearances, 2 NBA Finals MVPs, and of course, 5 championships, tying him with fellow Laker Magic Johnson.  Kobe Bryant's long and illustrious career almost assuredly garnered him a place in the NBA Hall of Fame (as of this writing, the NBA waived the normal requirements of voting, and awarded him a secured place in the 2020 class, posthumously).

The sexual assault case was dropped because the accuser refused to testify.  A subsequent civil suit by the accuser resulted in a settlement, where Mr. Bryant acknowledged he made an error in judgment but did not admit guilt. After the dust settled, many of his business endorsements returned, including a new contract with the Lakers (7 years, $136 million), which angered feminist activists who worked with sexual assault survivors.  He was able to finish out his career beloved by Laker fans.  

Kobe Bryant was known as an intense player, one who turned on his teammates who he felt were not giving their best, nor putting out the effort he felt was required to perform at the level he wanted.  Coaches, including Phil Jackson, who also won 5 titles with Bryant, felt he was a player who focused on himself, and who he believed wanted to be the center of the team and the main cog of its offense.  While he was loved and appreciated by a small cadre of teammates, he was not popular with fans of other teams, and those who covered the league, who felt his prickly demeanor hid an arrogant sense of entitlement, at least as I remembered when reading and following his career. He even gave himself a new nickname, "The Black Mamba," named after a venomous snake in the cult-classic Reservoir Dogs. It was a reply to his many critics and signaled how he would respond to society after his legal troubles were behind him.

Once he left the stage of the NBA, Kobe focused on transitioning to a new career in business, entertainment and investing (Kobe, along with friend and advisor Jeff Stibel, started a venture capital hedge fund).  He recently won an Academy Award and Sports Emmy for his animated short, "Dear Basketball."  He was featured on an episode of Real Sports on HBO (it was an edited introspective after his death) about his time in the NBA and business aspirations outside of the sport.  He wanted to become a media and financial titan, and I suspect with his connections, popularity, branding, he was well on his way to achieving many of those things.

So it came as a shock that someone who was slowly making his way into a new career as a mogul, that life was cut short.   The epitaph of Kobe Byrant will include many things: basketball genius and intense competitor, accused of sexual assault, Hall-of-Famer, business titan, loving dad, and devoted husband, and what has recently come out, devout Catholic.  Mr. Bryant must be remembered for what he did on the basketball court, his intense desire to be successful, how he pushed his teammates, was controversial at times, a coach of his daughter's growing journey in basketball, deeply religious, and someone who loved his wife and children.  He was a member of a community in Newport Beach and traveled throughout the region in a helicopter, partly to go where he needed to be in a shorter time frame, so he didn't lose time with his children.  

His death cut short many of the things he was focused on.  I think the best way to remember him is to tell the truth about his entire life, which included his flawed behavior, along with his athletic and business achievements, for that his how we truly honor those we have lost.  Celebrate what he did, how he repented, and how he lived his life until the very end.  

I shall remember for Kobe Bryant, Gianna "Gigi" Bryant, John, Kerry, and Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah and Peyton Chester, Christina Mauser, Ara Zaboyan.  Kobe and his daughter might be the most famous, but the tragic helicopter crash cut short the lives of others who loved their families equally, tried to inspire those around them and supported youth athletics.  Those inside the helicopter who perished that fateful Sunday morning were traveling with someone famous, but in the end, they were all us.  Remember who they were, and be inspired by them.

Mamba out.