Kobe Bryant was a former American Professional basketball player with the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. He spent his entire career spanning 20 years with the Lakers as a shooting guard leading them to 5 NBA championship wins and winning the most valuable player award in 2008.
Bryant who joined the NBA straight from high school is widely acclaimed as a legend in basketball and one of the greatest basketball player of all time. He is fondly referred to as ‘the black mamba’ a nickname he gave himself to signify his desire to mimic the snake’s prowess and striking accuracy.
Therefore, it was a rude shock to millions of his fans worldwide when the tragic news of his death in a helicopter crash on Sunday, January 26, 2020, was reported.
Tributes have been pouring in from notable personalities and basketball icons including the US President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama as investigations continue into the cause of the unfortunate incident.
Biography of Kobe Bryant
Born on August 23, 1978, in Pennsylvania, Kobe Bryant was the youngest of three children and the only son of former NBA player Joe Bryant and his wife Pamela Cox Bryant. He was named after the popular Japanese beef of Kobe by his parents after they saw it in a restaurant menu.
Meanwhile, his father retired from the NBA when Bryant was six and moved the family to Rieti, Italy where he continued to play basketball but on a reduced level. Subsequently, the family moved about some more, staying in places like Reggio Calabria, Pistoia and Reggio Emilia. It was at Reggio Emilia that Kobe Bryant actually started playing serious basketball and would then go to the US during Summer to participate in a basketball summer league.
Moreover, Bryant, who started to play basketball at the age of three was kept abreast of the NBA league by videos of games sent to him by his grandfather. He was especially fond of the LA Lakers, whom he joined eventually. Besides basketball, he had an interest in other sports such as football and was a fan of AC Milan.
Career
Bryant had an impressionable career in his high school at Lower Merion High school in Philadelphia where he averaged 31.1 points, 10. 4 rebounds and 5.2 assists during his junior year. Likewise, in his senior year, he scored the average of 30.8 points, 12 rebounds and 6.5 assists and took his team, the Aces, to their first All state championship in 53 years. He rounded up his career in High school as the all-time leading scorer in the whole of Southeastern Pennsylvania with 2883 points and got several awards for his standout performance such as Naismith High school player of the year, Gatorade men’s National basketball player of the year and McDonald’s All American among others.
Bryant was highly sought after by College recruiters upon his graduation but he decided to forgo college and head straight to the NBA thus becoming the 6th person to do so in the history of NBA. He made the decision irrespective of the fact that his high SAT score of 1080 and athletic ability would have guaranteed him any college of his choice.
Subsequently, during the 1996 NBA draft, Bryant was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th Overall pick, who then traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers. His parents cosigned the $3.5 million three year Rookie contract he signed with the Lakers, pending his attainment of the legal age of 18 the next season.
Thereafter, He won the 1997 Slam Dunk contest and was named All-star by his second season. He, alongside his teammate Shaquille O’ Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002. Upon the transfer of O’ Neal to Miami, he became the star player of the Lakers and led them to two back to back championships in 2009 and 2010 and was named the most valuable player on both occasions.
However, he sustained various degrees of injury at some points in his career which hindered him physically from playing and was also responsible for his exit from the game after 20 illustrious years. He announced his retirement via the Players Tribune on November 25, 2015, in a poem titled ‘Dear Basketball’ in which he described his love for the game and his inability to go on because of his weakening body.
Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant’s career statistics show that he scored a total of 33,643 points, 7,047 rebounds and 6,306 assists. He was 34 years old when he became the youngest player in the league to reach a career point of 30,000 and on February 2010, he overturned Jerry West as the topmost scorer in the history of the Lakers.
Moreover, he was also a member of the US basketball team that won gold at the 2008 and 2012 summer Olympics.
Kobe Bryant’s Kids, Daughters
Kobe Bryant’s kids; daughters are a blessing both him and his wife Vanessa Bryant cherish together in their long married life. They are Natalie Diamante 17, late Gianna Maria Onore 13, Bianka Bella 3, and 7 months old Capri Kobe.
Meanwhile, Bryant was 21 and his wife, 17 when they met at the scene of a music video shoot in November 1999. They were engaged six months later and exchanged marital vows at Saint Edward the Confessor Catholic Church, Dana point California on April 18, 2001, despite objections by Bryant’s parents who did not attend the wedding.
However, the birth of his first child, Natalie Bryant in January 2003 compelled him to reconcile with his parents. Afterwards, their second daughter Gianna Maria Onore who died in the crash was born in May 2006.
In November 2011, it was reported that Vanessa Bryant had filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences but the divorce was later called off by both parties involved. The couple gave birth to their third daughter Bianka Bella in December 2016 and thereafter welcomed their fourth daughter in June 2019.
How did Kobe Bryant Die?
The tragic accident which claimed the life of Kobe Bryant also involved the life of his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who shared his passion for the game of basketball and was with him on the ill-fated flight that killed a total of nine people. Eyewitnesses claim that the helicopter descended at an unusual speed before it crashed and erupted into flames on a hillside near Calabasas, California.
Also in the helicopter are seven other passengers including Christina Mauser, an assistant girls basketball coach of an elementary school in Orange county. They were on their way to a travel basketball game at his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks where Kobe was to coach Gianna as she played.
There hasn’t been any official report as to the cause of the crash at the time of writing but it was believed to have been caused by extreme foggy weather conditions around the area which grounded other planes including LAPD.
The helicopter, a Sikorsky S-76 owned by Bryant was cleared to fly despite the fog surrounding the area, as the Pilot Ara Zobayan, was ‘instrument rated’ which means he was certified to fly in fog and other extreme weather conditions, as per the New York Times.
Meanwhile, reactions have continued to pour in over the demise of the late basketball star as the Madison Square Garden in New York was on Sunday night, lit up with the Lakers colour of yellow and purple with a picture of Kobe Bryant, in his honour.
Likewise, the pylons at the Los Angeles International airport glowed in the Lakers colour of yellow and purple as a tribute to the NBA superstar. Fans have also gathered at the Staples centre Los Angeles, to lay wreaths and light candles in tribute to Kobe Bryant.
Furthermore, President Trump and former President Barack Obama have expressed their sadness over the tragic news, as well as notable sportsmen such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.
