A Tribute to Kobe & Gianna Bryant
January 22nd, 2006. I thought it was just another game. It wasn’t.
I was at a family friend’s house celebrating his tenth birthday. We spent most of the day building snowmen and playing tag, hide and seek, Nintendo DS, and house. After stuffing ourselves with food and sweets, it was time for the basketball game to start. I wasn’t a basketball fan at the time: in the past, I would only look up occasionally from my DS during games. Usually, this meant seeing the Raptors being obliterated by other teams. Such were the days of the Toronto Raptors prior to 2014.
This game seemed like another one of those games. The Raptors were taking a beating from the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center in the 4th quarter. As the lead grew, I began to wonder why my friend continued to watch the game. I was playing my DS when one of my friends, Albert, cheered at the same time as the crowd in LA. I looked up from my DS and frowned. The Lakers had scored- why was he cheering?
It was only when I paid more attention to the game that I noticed one player in particular was stealing the show as he dunked, scored from the three-point line, and made tough fadeaway jump shots in the face of the Raptors. I stared in disbelief as he continued to make shot after shot with the crowd cheering in response.
“Who is that guy?” I exclaimed as I watched him drain another 3-pointer.
Albert laughed. “That’s Kobe Bryant, he’s one of the best players ever!”
His voice radiated with admiration as he turned his attention back to the screen. The Raptors lost that game, but the loss was the furthest thing from my mind as I was still in disbelief by what I had just witnessed.
I was eight years old when I was first introduced to Kobe Bryant as one of the best basketball players in the NBA, if not the world. Kobe ended up scoring 81 points that night: the most a player has scored in a game since Wilt Chamberlain in 1962 (who scored 100 points in a single game). After that game, I fell in love with basketball and tried to watch Kobe Bryant whenever I could. His basketball skills were like none other during my lifetime. His hard work, talent, and dedication led to five NBA championships, 18 All-Star appearances, and an NBA MVP award, all as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. When he retired in 2016, the basketball community and NBA fans around the world were sad to see him leave, but many were excited to see the new projects he had in store. I believed that Kobe would continue to share his passion for basketball for decades to come.
But perhaps Kobe’s greatest pride and joy was reserved for his 4 daughters. His second daughter Gianna “Gigi” Bryant had the greatest potential to be her father’s successor as she gained attention among the national media and basketball scouts for her precocious basketball skills that resembled her father’s signature form. It was common to see the two sitting courtside at Los Angeles Lakers games with Kobe pointing out basketball plays to Gianna who always looked determined to learn from the very best in the sport. She dreamed of playing in the WNBA and practiced every single day knowing that she had the potential to reach the pinnacle of women’s basketball. She could have done it.
Kobe and Gianna’s deaths don’t feel real because we believe that extraordinary people can face everything that life throws at them. For them to pass away in a helicopter crash demonstrates the unpredictability of life. Kobe inspired so many of my generation to play basketball and absorb his work ethic in the same manner the previous generation was inspired by Michael Jordan. He inspired others to pursue their dreams and put forth every effort towards achieving them, whether they be through basketball, another sport, or other career paths such as law. It will be a long time before we see another player of Kobe’s calibre again. We remember Kobe as one of the greatest, a pioneer who inspired millions to play basketball and reach for the stars; and Gianna as the promising basketball player who was taken too soon.
Gone too soon. Rest in Peace Kobe and Gianna Bryant.