The Passing of Kobe Bryant

MAMBA OUT Lakers legend Kobe Bryant gone too soon after a helicopter crash 

MIDWAY THROUGH THE 3RD QUARTER of the Lakers-Sixers game last Sunday (Saturday evening in the US), Lakers forward LeBron James drove through the paint on a contested layup, scoring easily in between Al Horford and Shake Milton, and went on to surpass former Lakers guard Kobe Bryant to become the 3rd all-time leading scorer in league history. 

Following James’ historic upset over Bryant’s record, the Black Mamba took to Twitter to congratulate Lebron’s unassuming feat with some inspiring words, “Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother #33644.” The Lakers, however, did not survive the night as the Sixers came out with a convincing victory. 

Surpassing any of Bryant’s achievements is no small feat. The once high school phenom, Kobe Bryant, who spent a part of his childhood in Italy, was initially drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996 but was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers before he could don a Hornets jersey. He spent his entire 20-year career with the Lakers, won five championships, became an 18-time All-Star, and an MVP in 2008. Following his retirement, Bryant has since scored a number of philanthropic efforts outside of basketball. And he recently won an Oscar for his Animated Short Film, Dear Basketball.

But on the night of January 25, his former team was far from having a Mamba-like performance and ran out of gas as soon as the 4th quarter started. After scoring a run, they couldn’t hold on to that ball and succumbed to a loss. The only consolation in that game, though, was the passing on of that scoring title from one great Laker to another. 

Bryant was gone soon after that, along with his daughter, Gianna, and several others, on their way for a basketball game when their helicopter went down the following day in Calabasas, California. His tweet on James turned out to be his last, which proved to be quite haunting and symbolic in relation to the scoring record. 

The Lakers are still an elite team following the loss, but their performance last Sunday was anything but spirited, despite attempts of James and Anthony Davis taking turns scoring against an embattled Sixers team sans Joel Embid. With Bryant’s death, the Lakers, to no fault of their own, are now feeling the heat even more. 

Bryant was called the Black Mamba for a reason. This deadly predator stalks its prey before unleashing its attack, maiming its victims helpless as a result. And that characteristic alone has since been the imprint of Bryant’s game: intense, unflinching, and unapologetic. 

It also rubbed him the wrong way during his long, decorated basketball journey. Even as he had his own fair share of controversies too, threatening his career at one point. His on-court exploits, however, remain constant, earning him mythic status not only in Lakers circles but in NBA lore as well. Scoring 81 points in a single game is almost unheard of.  

It looked so surreal to see LeBron James waving the Sixers faithful in acknowledgment after he surpassed Bryant’s scoring record that night. It was as if the feat itself was quite rare than it already was, only that the Lakers fell short of securing a victory. 

The team was supposed to be dominant in their recent east trip. Instead, they suffered a drubbing at the hands of their arch-rival the Boston Celtics in a blowout, and, of course, the whimper they had against a short-handed Sixers team last Sunday. So palpable was the frustration that you could almost encapsulate the exasperation in James’ face when he stared at Danny Green following a turnover late in the 4th quarter. 

That might be just another game for the Lakers, even as there are still a lot of games left for the season. They can always bounce back after a terrible loss, letting it all pass up like they used to do since the season started. But the passing of Kobe Bryant forwards the game even further. LeBron and the rest of the now weary Lakers are now pressured to win it all, which might be the crux behind Bryant’s last tweet.    





(photo credits: mocah.org, The Los Angeles Times)