Bigger than basketball - Kobe Bryant

By Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA - Kobe Bryant, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85728664

The world lost one of the most recognizable faces in the sport of basketball - Kobe Bryant. A helicopter carrying him and seven other crashed in Calabasas, California, on January 26th, 2020.

Amongst the victims were his daughter Gianna, Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri Altobelli, and their daughter, Alyssa Altobelli; Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton Chester; assistant basketball coach Christina Mauser; and pilot Ara Zobayan.

Kobe was an icon and a legend for millions around the world. Some people saw Michael Jordan as the best ever but then there those that just simply loved the Kobe way - “Mamba Mentality”

By Kobe_Bryant_7144.jpg: Sgt. Joseph A. Leederivative work: JoeJohnson2 (talk) - Kobe_Bryant_7144.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8039249

How did Kobe define “Mamba Mentality”? - It’s essentially “To be on a constant quest to try to be the best version of yourself. That's what the mentality is. It's not a finite thing. It's a constant quest to try to be better today than you were yesterday and better tomorrow than you were the day before.

He was a two-time NBA finals MVP, a five-time NBA Champion, and an Academy Award (yes! you read that right) winner. Above all, he was someone bigger than the sport of basketball.

By Keith Allison from Kinston, USA - RO9A3336Kobe_Bryant_Drives.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9056201

For kids growing up in the ’90s, he was an inspiration. Whether it was a dislocated finger, sprained ankle, or a torn Achilles - this man gave it all and left everything on the basketball court.

Thank you Kobe for blessing us with so many memories and inspiring us in every way. Your legacy will always live on. As someone once said, - Legends never die #MambaOut.