Kobe Bryant Discussion: Mamba Out!

Totally gutted. Woke up to news feeds and text messages about the accident and thought it was fake news. Reality hit me hard after reading about this from several reputable sources. I have been following the Lakers since the 80s but Kobe is a player whom I have watched his entire playing career in purple and gold. To me, he is part of family, a wider purple and gold family which brings joy and entertainment to my life, especially so during the late 90s/early 00s at a stage where I was struggling badly both in my personal and work life.

RIP to all who perished in the accident, my thoughts are with the families during this difficult time. It's gonna take a long time for me to get over the grief. Mamba forever~

 

Worst night I've had in quite a while. At 6am I was still awake, at times it felt like I was not on my body, then I was actually kinda shaking with actual chills. I mean, I very well knew I had a ton of appreciation for Kobe Bryant, both because of his game AND his "mamba mentality", and if you asked me 2 days ago how would I feel if Kobe died, I would obviously answer I'd be sad and all, but not in my wildest dreams I'd imagine the effect it would have on me, and admittedly, while I knew a ton of players and legends had a ton of admiration for Kobe Bryant, I would've never imagined the worldwide reaction to his passing. If there is any consolation, I am happy to see the appreciation by many people around the league (and outside the league), and it really just shows you something we Kobe fans tried telling the world for years while he played: His legacy is well beyond numbers or even titles. He did so much more that just can't be measured. It is a bit sad that this is taking more form than ever after his passing, but I do appreciate it has actually taken form.

We know Kobe will live forever in many of us. I know there's a ton of people here who watched his whole career. I personally began watching basketball his rookie year so I barely managed to be one of them, and because of that, he really marked a part of my life, or actually two, both my childhood and my teens. At some point, the admiration for Kobe Bryant went beyond basketball and became an admiration for him as a person, and it's a real shame we won't get part 2 of his life, because his post-retirement career was looking almost as fun as his basketball career.

It really breaks me to think how he was always seen with Gianna in his final years, then thinking this tragedy also took her child. I don't know man, it's a tough pill to swallow. This is really really sad.

I do hope and think at some point my sadness right now will be replaced by smiles and happiness thinking in all Kobe gave us. He will definitely be a really great memory in my life. But I will clearly need some time to get there.

I don't post a whole lot but I've been reading and sometimes posting since the clublakers days, so lots of hugs to everyone here who feel even remotely similar to me right now.

 

this one hurts most thinking bout that last moment kobe n gigi had and for the other parents as well

 

This is like a dream or something, man. Just doesn't seem real. I held up okay until I watched the Dear Basketball video, then the tears started flowing.

I always envisioned our next title, he would be down on the floor celebrating with LeBron and AD, like Magic and Kareem did with his title teams. He would coronate the next generation of Laker immortals as it was once done for him. It cuts to the bone knowing we will never see that.

RIP Mamba, Gianna, and all the other passengers as well.

 

I still can't put it into words that make any sense at all. Thank you to everyone here, a lot of what I try to say has been put into better words. I'm still surprised that my eyes have tears to give.

This one cuts deep and hurts different. It's going to take awhile to process everything. I was able to meet him at a book signing a couple years ago, talked to him for all of 5 secs and I'm going to cherish those 5 secs.

Legends are forever. RIP GOAT.

 

Few thoughts...

- they should have canceled the games last night. Teams were emotional and didn't care about the game. Melo, Kyrie, Rivers (dad and son), Pop, TD, Chandler, Booker, Trey, Thomas. We saw all of their struggles. I know first and foremost the NBA is a business and in it for the money, but it would have shown a great deal of respect to a player who has made you hundreds and hundreds of millions both domestically and abroad. He's spread the brand in ways no one has done since MJ.

- and for the teams that didn't play last night, they should have canceled their next one. Having an 81 game season would have been a nice nod to Kobe. They could have still sold tickets and the teams could've shared Kobe stories or honored him and allowed fans to still come out and pay tribute. Mourn together. They could have still made money off of it. But in that scenario, the right thing to do would've been to donate at least half of ticket sales to one of Kobe's foundations.

- props to Cuban for retiring his number. He was the first to do so. I hope the rest of the teams follow suit and retire both 8 and 24.

- they need to start building Kobe's statue in front of Staples today. After the makeshift memorial locations are gone this will give fans a place to visit and pay their respects.

 

It's been a really rough 24 hours - but here is what I penned down on IG regarding Kobe Bryant:

"I’m still trying to find the words to say - anyone that’s ever known me, knows how much I love the Lakers, and how much I idolized Kobe. Here’s the truth: Kobe wasn’t just a basketball player to me; he was somebody, other than my own father, that I actually looked up to and in some weird ways, could relate to. The key theme for Kobe throughout his life seemed to be overcoming adversity, which is something I feel runs in parallel with what I’ve had to go through in my life. For context, at every stage of his life, he was doubted. Doubted by coaches, teammates, media, and even his own parents. But Kobe always found ways to persevere in spite of it all. In 2004, he had to fly back and forth between court in Colorado and home/away games sometimes in the same day, fighting rape allegations. The ability to still focus and do your job every single day with what he had going on was truly inspirational, as it’s something I’ve had to practice in my own life. He grew as a person outside of basketball as a result by restoring relationships with people that he had fallen out with (his parents, his wife, Shaq, etc) because he was man enough to admit he was wrong in certain situations.

I still can’t believe I’m writing this - I don’t think it’s hit me yet. The one thing I can’t really seem to get past is Kobe losing his daughter with him - she was only 13 years old. And she was the one daughter who was most like her father in terms of basketball chops. It’s truly tragic that she didn’t get to live her full life and was taken so swiftly from us. I cant imagine what her sisters and her mother must be going through right now. My heart hurts so much for the Bryant family - and my prayers are with them, and I hope they have amazing people around them that will help them through this because the tough part isn’t right now, the tough part is 6 months, 11 months. 2 years from now. That’s when they’ll need support the most.

Kobe, I love you - and I promise to bring the Mamba Mentality in every single thing I do until the day I die. Thank you for being an inspiration to me throughout all these years, and helping me become the person I am today. #MambaOut #MambaForever #Mamba4Life"

 

makes me so ******* sad we won't get to hear his HOF speech or see him there to unveil his statue outside staples

i'm just happy they retired his numbers when they did so he was able to enjoy that with his family

 

A thread about Kobe was started by someone else on my local NextDoor.com site and I put in some of my own feelings and the link to Jerry West's long interview with Jim Hill. And then because they have a way of turning any thread into a cluster**** with someone going off topic to chip in their unwanted 2 cents and I was fearing some kind of he's just a rich sports star or a Me Too type of comment about Colorado ..... I explained my friends and family on my Lakers forums back to 2005 and posted one of the representative great posts from here yesterday from @Battle Tested20 I believe about how Kobe was an inspiration in peoples' lives to overcome personal loss and illness and hardships in life beyond just being a great player. Fortunately no one yet have been a **** in posting something like that.

One of the guys just put up this link with some air traffic control information now coming out about this tragic flight.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/01/sikorsky-s76-helicopter-kobe-bryant.html

 

.... Man I can't stop crying, I know I shouldn't act like this but Kobe was my childhood and during tough times in my life I would resort to basketball and playing and trying to be Kobe. Watching him for 20 years he was like my other brother that helped me and cheered me up. I love you Kobe and will miss you man. Thank you for all the memories. And as for his beautiful daughter Gianna, I am still in utter shock at that as well. I pray that they find peace in heaven. Love you all and don't forget to hug the ones you love, this just shows you how fragile life is and no matter how much money, power you have it all can be taken away in a minute.

 

what really angers me is how many media outlets and various entities are appreciating him only now, AFTER his death.

We all knew his greatness but I hate that for others it seems to have taken his death to give him the appreciation he deserves.

his legacy may end up improving because of this tragedy, but it shouldn't have had to come this way.

he should have received all the props and love that MJ has, without this horrible end.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/kobe-b...nto-hall-of-fame-in-2020-class-153128360.html

 

Dwight said it best:

 

Kendrick Perkins said it best... Whenever you're stuck in a situation, ask yourself, "What would Kobe do?"

Another quote from Iverson... they were both rookies that were drafted. Kobe showed up to Iverson's hotel room and asked him what he was going to do. Iverson said: "I'm going to the club, what about you?" In true Kobe fashion, "I'm going to the gym."

It's cliche but Kobe is like an aura... He may be gone physically but everyone has some Kobe in them.

 

Not sure if this has been shared yet. LeBron's postgame from the night before after passing Kobe on the All Time Scoring List.
This is all just unbearably heartbreaking. Sending Positivity to all of Laker Nation.

https://nba-ts-lakers.s3.amazonaws.com/bron_web-twitter.mp4?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAR42IGL4ZJ5HRUGRJ&Expires=1581343158&Signature=FmakszQYyMDhosrLHaNjwrD4BLM=

 

I am late to this thread and it may have been shared. If you hadn't shared it I likely would have missed this.

And this literally took my breath away.

Lebron did not know at the time, but he was giving a living eulogy that hours later would have not.

Thank you for this share brother.