#MAMBAOUT

February 3rd, 2020

I haven’t really had the time to write in a while. However, I hope that I will get the time to write some more of my thoughts in a more cohesive manner. School has been busy. Every day has been a bit of a grind, but it is one that has been very, very enjoyable for sure. I’ve been meaning to write this piece for a while now, and I just got the time to do so.

To be honest, Kobe Bryant’s death was the first celebrity death that really affected me. I was in denial when the news came out. Kobe seemed untouchable, almost immortal. I wondered if the reports were fake. Maybe they had the wrong guy. Maybe the reports were just over-exaggerated. However, this wasn’t the case, and for the first time ever I was really pushed by the death of someone that I never even knew personally.

Similar to millions of people around the world, I’d grown up watching Kobe tear up the NBA. His monster seasons from 2008-2011 showcased his insane mamba mentality that many players have never really had. He had an infectious hunger to win and that drive permeated to the rest of the team, resulting in two back-to-back chips. Inspired by the legend himself, I remember practicing my amateur basketball skills based on his pump-fakes and fade-away jump shots. But I think to our generation, he really was more than that. When faced with adversity, Kobe only seemed to get better each time. The man did not want to lose and that attitude was simply infectious. We all played a game or two thinking that we could be number 24, driving down the side of the arc, pushing off our defender (without drawing the foul) and hitting the step-back jumper. Even if we didn’t hit these shots, we were certainly pushed to believe that we could. And for that, he will always be a legend.

I remember solely playing with Kobe during the span of years in which I was addicting to playing NBA 2K11. I would shoot all my shots with him, and I’d always wish that he could have gotten just 2 more rings so that he could claim his victory over Michael Jordan. I never grew up watching Jordan, so I can’t really attest to how great he was back in the day. However, after watching his highlights, I can definitely say that him and Kobe were very similar when it came to their mentalities. They both just wanted to win so badly. Basketball was their escape from life. All their problems would fade away once they got on the court and these guys absolutely DOMINATED in that sense. I think for a lot of players there are plenty of distractions that can drift us away from our goals. I can tell that this is very applicable for us as well. Achievements require immense sacrifice. Those who cannot sacrifice anything, cannot change anything. I can’t even imagine how much time Kobe put into practicing day after day. Imagine waking up at 4 in the morning to practice making 800 shots. That’s an insanely competitive mindset. The dude had a chip on his shoulder from day 1.

I think the reason why Kobe is loved so much around the world is because he really is very average when it comes to talent. He doesn’t have the best physical attributes. In fact, Lord knows what he would’ve done on the court if he had the physical stance of Lebron (lol). Kobe had one thing in control and that was how hard he would work. Whether it was his conditioning, his moves, his defense, or his mentality, Kobe Bryant definitely put in thousands and thousands of hours honing down each part of his game. He was definitely the most complete player. He had no weakenesses.

However, Kobe’s career has had some controversies that are worth recognizing. In 2003, he was accused of sexually assaulting a member of the hotel staff in Colorado. Although the allegations were dropped, Kobe literally confessed to have sexual relations with the accuser, stating that he thought everything was consensual. Nevertheless, the dude definitely did something shady and that mistake is something that will stick with him for the rest of his legacy. I don’t mean to tarnish his accomplishments and the inspiration that he brought to me during my childhood, but what he did was wrong. There is no doubting that. Although the man was an absolute legend on the court and mostly off the court, this is an incident that the public shouldn’t forget in my opinion. We are all human and make mistakes. But this one was pretty bad.

Nevertheless, thank you Kobe. Thank you for being an inspiration to me and to our entire generation. Your mindset and drive is something that I’ve been thinking about for the past week. I hope it sticks with me and becomes a part of me. #MAMBAOUT