Kobe Bean Bryant will go down in history as one of the greatest basketball players to ever live. Not because of his level of skill or because he played with some of the greats, but because of his work ethic. There are countless stories of Kobe doing something ridiculous to simply get better. From the perspective of someone who has grown up watching this man play and win championships he could not have gone out any better. As a lifelong Laker's fan I would not have wanted Kobe to go out any other way. Sure he took 50 shots, but he earned every single one of those misses and makes. Growing up with championship after championship it has been a hard couple of years seeing the Lakers be the worst they have ever been. There is hope with the younger generation of players being Clarkson, Randle, and Russell, but, the question is, will it be enough? There will be a gaping hole in the Lakers without Kobe being on the team or even around to influence younger players. I believe a big reason why the younger generation of Lakers have been effective is because of them being under Kobe's guidance and tutelage.
I will always remember the Lakers team with Kobe, Pau, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom and other great players. It is easy to look back at those days and the two championships that team won and wish for those times to be back. Kobe led those teams by his work ethic and inspired those players to be as good as they were. As my favorite player of all time Kobe Bryant will go down in history as, in my opinion, the greatest of all time. I am obviously extremely biased in my opinion but there it is. The moments that I think truly show who Kobe Bryant is are when he got hurt and continued to play. When he tore his Achilles he hit two free throws first, then walked off the court. The other one is when he tore his rotator cuff in his shooting shoulder. So what does he do? He hits a turn around three-pointer with his left arm and then leaves the court. His mental toughness is absolutely unparalleled in the game of basketball. There have been players with the same or lesser injuries get carried off the court after something like this. Not Kobe.
