I started watching basketball in 4th grade when the Lakers lost to the Celtics. My uncle and his family were watching the games so I just decided to root for them but I didn't really care. I saw this Kobe Bryant dude and the reporters/half time show all focused on him, I was like damn that's impressive.
So I started searching him and watching youtube highlights of his best games. I was hyped for the upcoming season despite not knowing much. The dude was clearly the best player in the league that season. I started getting into playing basketball around this time and I was all about the Mamba mentality, the dude inspired me in all areas of life. I would be like "If Kobe Bryant's passion was studying, he would finish all his work and then study extra". I was always pretty smart as a child but really lazy and that mindset changed everything. I joined a local basketball league and I would try to copy his attitude (not on the court obviously because of that Kobe shot selection) like waking up early on game days and playing basketball, making sure I eat the right food the night before.
The next two playoff runs he had were legendary and to me, the most underrated playoff runs for a superstar in NBA history. Yes those teams had talent, but Kobe is what made those teams win a championship. In 2009 Kobe just dominated the Jazz, Rockets, Nuggets, some of the games were close but no one was really stopping Kobe and in the finals Kobe went off, averaging 32/7/6. Then in the 2010 run, after getting past the Thunder he demolishes the Jazz again and then has the most underrated playoff series of all time where he averages 34/8/7 on 52/43/88. He literally would be having shoot outs against the entire Suns team. I remember the Suns kept scoring through a variety of players scoring and every time the ball game on our side, Kobe just kept nailing shot after shot after shot. Those two playoff runs have been the peak of my basketball experience so far.
Then after that alot of things happened but Kobe was doing his thing for the most part, it was looking like father time couldn't catch up. My freshman year of HS, the Dwight/Nash tandem happens. Kobe carried that team day and night, got (bleep) on for not making Dwight feel comfortable or some (bleep). He was literally willing that team to the playoffs until he got injured. Dude was a 34 year old star averaging 45 minutes (30/7/7 averages) because he knew he had a chance if he made the playoffs. That's the Kobe attitude, I don't see any star in this league having it right now. The next 2 seasons after that Kobe was getting destroyed by injuries and the NBA wasn't the same. I was in highschool at that time and the NBA just became boring to me without seeing Kobe balling.
Then the Kobe farewell tour happens. I don't give a (bleep) how bad the dude was performing, or how the rookies were being effected but those moments were amazing. Seeing teams give tributes and gifts to Kobe wherever he went, all the fans coming out and supporting this guy in every arena, seeing moments where he would just be smiling and having fun on the court. He wasn't the same player but the impact this dude had on the NBA was made so clear during that season, it was amazing. I struggled with serious anxiety to the point where I would be getting up in the middle of the night, having serious depression. I was on anti depressants and self medicating myself with MJ and pills. Kobe Bryant's farewell tour single handedly carried me through 2016, if I didn't have those games to look forward to I would have been (bleep). Then that 60 point game happened, and it changed everything. The idol I grew up watching showed me everything about discipline, the Kobe attitude, work ethic just dropped 60 at the age of 37 to cap off a 20 year legendary career. and I couldn't get my life together. It's been almost a year since that day, and I've turned my life around. I'm off of anti depressants, I stopped going to the therapist and I got into meditation, zen buddhism (shoutout to Phil Jackson for that one), Laws of the universe and I'm getting (bleep) done in life.
It's pretty cool to me how Kobe Bryant's final season was my senior year of high school, I had a couple real sobering realizations of how my childhood was basically over. From 5th grade to the end of highschool, Kobe Bryant was my main idol outside of my parents and family. One day I'm going to be an old ass man preaching about Kobe Bryant to the people who never watched Kobe.
Idk why I wrote all of that out but I'm pretty lit and this post got me in my feels about Kobe.
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TD/DR: Kobe was my idol growing up, watched him from 5th grade until his final year which was my senior year of highschool, and he really defined my childhood and attitude towards life.
In the first 40 seconds or so of that Olympics video, Kobe passes out to Melo for an easy 3 twice, and is on the run and gets a distance pass from CP3 for an easy score...either one would have worked out great with Kobe. The guy would have been at peace having those either of those guys making things easier on him as the years passed. Ah well.
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He's not even on Kawhi level.
Save the bananas. Stop creating terrible posts!
