Goodbye, Kobe Bryant

May 2016

Many people asked me if I would cry. I said no. I knew you were at peace with your decision, and for that, I was at peace with you leaving the game forever.

For me, the end came on the evening of April 12, 2013. I was visiting Indiana University in Bloomington. You were single handily willing the Lakers to the playoffs, as you had been doing all season, even with the help of Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, and Pau Gasol. But the minutes had finally taken a toll on you. As much as I wanted to believe in your invincibility, I knew the end was near when you fell to the floor and tore your Achilles. I was fortunate enough to have seen you just one month before when I took Jana to the Lakers-Mavericks game in Dallas. Growing up, I always had two dates circled on my calendar every year – both times the Lakers came to town. You put on an absolute show that afternoon, and pulled out every move from your repertoire; Vintage Kobe to say the least. Jana finally understood why I admired you so much.

For the last several years, I’ve been telling people that no matter where your final game would be, I was going to come and watch. Well, I didn’t exactly anticipate that ticket prices would be through the roof, so that idea sort of went down the drain. But when my dad proposed we go see you one final time in Houston, I immediately accepted the invitation. My dad and I showed up to Toyota Center seventy-five minutes before tip off, and, to no one’s surprise, there was significantly more purple and gold in the stadium than there was red. You dropped 35 that game, and thankfully put on another classic Kobe performance, receiving countless "oohs and ahhs" from the crowed. It was an honor to be apart of your farewell tour.

I thought I had seen it all, and then 4.13.2016 happened. Your final game is a microcosm of your entire career. Tons of shots. Lots of misses. Lots of makes. Countless jaw drops. A silencer. Simply amazing. Literally giving it all you had. All the greats admiring you. Kanye West, David Beckham, Shaquille O'Neal, Jack Nicholson, Jay Z, Snoop Dogg. Literally the greatest of their trades in awe of your spectacularness. You were the true, unscripted Hollywood star. You wanted to win so badly that night - that’s what I found so amazing. The friends I watched with all wondered when you would be taken out and how long your standing ovation would last. You didn’t want that, though. You wanted a win, and you did everything you could to do so. Your daughters finally got to see the real Black Mamba.

First Memories

Hello, my name is Kobe Bryant. I was born in Philadelphia in 1978. I am most well known for playing basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers. Three interesting facts about my life are:

1. I was so good at basketball I got to skip college and go straight to the NBA.
2. My second language is Italian.
3. I broke the NBA record for 3-pointers in a game in 2003.

This is my first real memory of Kobe Bryant. This is the speech I muttered several dozen times during our Second Grade Wax Museum at Greenhill School. I had become interested in sports, and specifically the Lakers and basketball, the summer leading into second grade. The early 2000s were an ideal time to be a Lakers fan, as they were in the midst of their back-to-back-to-back championship run. Many people thought I merely "hopped on the bandwagon," but I was born in Los Angeles, and my dad was a Lakers fan, so I always shrugged off that notion. During these young years, I spent countless evenings impersonating Kobe moves in my parents' driveway. From blowing on my hands, to shooting my free throws with angled feet, to attempting triple pump fake fadeways, I did everything in my power to replicate your flawlessness on the basketball court. From the age of 7-12, I legitimately thought I was going to play in the NBA, and even my parents were convinced of the same…But then we left the JCC gym.

It was around this time that I started going to Mavericks games. I can tell you that being a Lakers/Kobe fan in Dallas was no easy task. All of my friends were Mavs Fans for Life (MFFLs), and I certainly received my fair share of dirty looks when I rolled into American Airlines Center with my bright yellow Kobe jerseys. The worst part about going to Lakers-Mavs games when I was young is that the the games wouldn’t start until 8:30pm, meaning my parents would oftentimes make me leave the game early. I most regret leaving the game where Kobe dropped 43 including this insane fadeaway.

I had the pleasure of watching Kobe's spectaculureness for almost his entire career. In fact, my ideal Friday night in Lower and Middle school consisted of me playing in my basketball games, going to dinner with friends, then plopping myself in front of the TV to watch late night Lakers games. I remember Kobe outscoring the Mavericks 62-61 after three quarters then benching himself in the 4th quarter. I remember the 81-point game. I unfortunately cannot admit to watching that full game live. It was a Sunday night, and I had school the next day. The Lakers were down 16 at halftime, and who would have thought Kobe was going to score 55 points in the second half… But I woke up the next morning with the biggest grin on my face. I couldn’t wait to wear my Kobe shirt to school. Then of course there was his incredible Game 4 of the 2006 Playoffs, where he hit not one, but two buzzer beaters, including this game winning fadeaway.

The Not So Glory Days

Then there were the down years. Like the 2004-2005 season after Shaq was traded. This is when the Lakers were starting Chucky Atkins. I vividly remember watching a road game against the Charlotte Bobcats. My dad was in Vegas that weekend. He, of course, knows nothing about sports and asked me about some picks he should make that night. I didn’t understand the concept of a spread at the time, so I said that the Lakers were going to “destroy” the Bobcats that night – the Bobcats might have been the only team worse than the Lakers that year. The Lakers ended up winning the game by 1 after Kobe poured in 21 fourth quarter points including this game winning jump shot. An elated Brady called my dad to share the excitement. Unfortunately, the Lakers did not cover the spread, and my dad wasn’t too happy. It's safe to say this is the reason I don’t bet.

One of the worst weekends of my life came in May of 2011. Yes, I’m talking about the Mavericks championship year – congratulations. The Lakers were coming off back-to-back titles, and Kobe was on the quest for his second three peat while playing the Mavericks in the second round. I was  thrilled. Not only because I was going to get to see my first Lakers playoff game, but mainly because I thought the Lakers were going to destroy the wimpy Dallas Mavericks, who couldn’t win a clutch playoff series, especially against Kobe… Well, I was wrong. The Lakers lost their first two games at home and the first game in Dallas to go down 0-3 in the series. "I might be sick in the head or crazy, but I still think we're going to win the series,” Kobe said in his interview before Game 4. I might have been sick in the head, too, because I was sure the Lakers were going to win the series in 7. Well, I was wrong again. The Lakers were swept right out of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks. Great, now I get to hear about this for the rest of my life. But 17>1 if my math is correct, so… Also, for the first time in my life I was embarrassed to be a Lakers fan after Andrew Bynum almost killed JJ Barea.

Meeting Kobe

I wish. I’ve unfortunately never met Kobe, but I’ve had some close encounters. The first was at Camp Lakers at UCSB in Santa Barbara. One of the most memorable days of my life. I was around 12 years old and Kobe was literally within inches of me.

Another occurred during my freshman year at the University of Miami. It was a Wednesday in January. Miami Basketball was playing against Duke, and although the game wasn’t going to be too exciting (Duke slaughtered Miami) rumor was that Kobe and LeBron were going to be in attendance since the Lakers were in town to play the Heat. I was in my dorm room after class on Wednesday when I heard people saying that LeBron was on campus and sitting in on a class in the business school. Although I wasn’t a big LeBron fan, I figured I could go get a picture with him or something. I headed for the business school. On the walk over, I got word that LeBron wasn’t the one sitting in on the class; it was Kobe. I immediately began sprinting. This was my opportunity to finally meet Kobe! As soon as I arrived at the business school, I saw a huge swarm of people walking. I followed them expecting to see Kobe, but I had just missed him. He was getting in his car and leaving. I didn’t attend the game that evening due to a rush event, but Kobe and LeBron were both at the Miami-Duke game. Even though we were in Miami, a Kobe chant broke out. Can’t say I was surprised.

The coolest thing for Kobe is the MVP chants he gets on the road. I used to search for it on YouTube all of the time. This is now my favorite video on YouTube. Stu Lantz says, “This crowd is absolutely going crazy.” If your eyes were closed, you’d legitimately think this game was in Los Angeles.

January 2020

TBC...