As most of us know, one of the greatest athletes of all time played his very last game on Wednesday, April 13th, against the Utah Jazz. A couple weeks before, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers suffered their largest margin of defeat in his 20-year career, 123 to 75, against the same team. This game, though, Kobe ended victorious, tallying 60 out of the 101 points scored. At the end of his record performance, he gave a beautiful farewell speech, thanking his fans and his family repeatedly, that literally brought me to tears.
At the age of 17, instead of going to college, he decided to "take his talents" to the NBA and was drafted in 1996; first for the Charlotte Hornets, then traded that same day to the Lakers where he would eventually lead a team to five championships. Kobe's biggest inspiration to pursue the game of basketball comes from the legend that is Michael Jordan, or MJ. He spent his younger years emulating everything about him.
"Here’s where my respect and admiration for MJ was forged. I learned that he had been cut from his high school team as a freshman; I learned he knew what it felt like to be embarrassed, to feel like a failure. But he used those emotions to fuel him, make him stronger, he didn’t quit. So I decided to take on my challenge the same way he did. I would channel my failure as fuel to keep my competitive fire burning. I became obsessed with proving to my family, and more importantly to myself, that I can do this," said Kobe in The Players Tribune in 2014.
And he certainly did. The hard work that Kobe put in has clearly paid off due to the fact that Michael Jordan said he "sees a lot of himself" in Kobe, something he has never said before about any other player. MJ became Kobe's mentor as they spent a lot of time together, on and off the court. The duo has even played against each other in the league.
In an interview with NBA TV, Kobe said, "It’s one thing to watch him play and then play against him. His technique was flawless. I wanted to make sure my technique was just as flawless.”
As we all know, MJ is a well-known nickname of Michael Jordan and Kobe has a well-known nickname, as well. He created the nickname, The Black Mamba, for himself, which he considers his alter ego on the court during the darkest part of his life many years ago. He became The Black Mamba during each game in order to block out his personal life while on the court. The Black Mamba has remained ever since.
With a phenomenal resume including 17 NBA All-Star selections, an NBA Most Valuable Player award, five NBA championships and two Olympic gold medals, it is no surprise that Kobe comes in third place with a career point total of 33,643, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone, who are first and second respectively.
Not all of us may have been around to witness the legend that will always be Michael Jordan, but all of us can say we were here to witness the history that will now and forever be Kobe Bryant. As he relaxes in his retirement with his wife, Vanessa, and two daughters, Natalia and Gianna, we are relaxing in the unforgettable memories of his victorious career.
Mamba out.
