On the 26th of January 2020, Kobe Bryant passed away alongside his daughter. They were in the tragic helicopter accident that carried the legendary basketball player, and his daughter’s high school basketball team. It was a horrible incident that left the whole basketball community in shock.
As we come close to the second year since his passing, we wanted to look back at how Bryant had boosted the game of basketball in his life, and created a strong sense of community in his death.
Kobe’s life was cut short, but he managed to do so much with it before his untimely passing. We cannot forget who this great man was, and how he had helped the people around him.
Kobe Bryant’s Amazing Talent
Kobe played an amazing 20 years in the NBA. 10 of those years were with the number 8 on his back, and the other 10 were with the number 24. All of his career was with the Los Angeles Lakers, and that commitment will forever be remembered by the fans.
During his time with the Lakers he earned the Most Valuable Player award once as a number 8, and three times as the number 24. That’s an astonishing four times in total!
When he first entered the games he won the All-Rookie cup, and soon after bagged the Dunk Contest Championship.
Along with his other achievements, Kobe also won Scoring Champ twice, the All-NBA 15 times, the All-Defence 12 times, and the player of the month award 16 times!
Bryant was raking in the trophies like it was nobody’s business!
Kobe Bryant’s Important Legacies:
Without this amazingly skilled basketball player on the court, you can feel the gap he once held. Since his passing, the players and the fans have noticed that the court doesn’t feel the same.
But there was more to Bryant than his amazing skills. Yes part of his legacy was in heaps and heaps of medals, but he was a community man too.
The Next Generation
A lot of the NBA player futures will come down to their connection to Kobe Byrant. Byrants skill was excellent, but to many, he was more than just a phenomenal player; he was their mentor.
Being good at a sport is one thing, but to get to the level that Kobe Bryant reached, with the number of awards and recognition he achieved, you need to have determination and spirit. This is the level of control, care, and love that many players gravitate towards and try to replicate.
Players like Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Trae Young, Demar Derzan, Kyrie Irving, and Kawhi Leonard are just a few professionals who idolized Bryant while he was still alive. Because of his dedication to the sport and to show others how to raise themselves up, we have discovered the next generation of amazing athletes.
Sneakers
There was more to Kobe than his fantastic skill on the court; he was also a great designer. His partnership with Adidas and Nike allowed him to follow his passion for sneakers and led to the forever famous “Crazy 8”. The design matched Bryant’s jersey when he used the 8 number. He made three shoes in that time, all of which fit with his style and ability to move.
When Kobe changed from number 8 to number 24, he also swapped from Adidas to Nike. Here his style of shoe created a lower cuff, just as his own numbers went higher.
The lower cuffs strayed away from the classic basketball-style ankle protection and lent towards the soccer-style shoe for movement control.
Kobe showed us how you could be great at more than one thing, and it’s okay to dive into multiple projects.
Community
Kobe’s amazing skills, love of the younger players, and desire to help all he could is why he managed to create a fantastic community around him. In a time where basketball can be broken down to stats, money, and MVPs, Bryant reminded all of the viewers and the managers, too, that there is more.
Basketball is about community, about sharing skills and pushing yourself. Bryant was cut down in his prime, but before he went, he prepared the ground for other players to grow.
