Mamba Out: The Great Loss of Kobe Bryant

It’s unfathomable to believe that Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers icon, has passed away. It hurts to write those words because Kobe is indestructible. It’s taken days just to collect my thoughts enough to write this.

When the news broke, we all thought someone was pulling a sick joke because the reality was too hard to believe. We saw him do superhuman things and never once complain about the difficulty. We watched him tear his Achilles and shoot a pair of free throws without even flinching. How do you put into words what Kobe Bryant truly meant?

To the man who made me fall in love with not just basketball, but the art of competition there are no words for your loss. You said either you’re with me or you’re against me on the court, and never held back. Nothing can be said to truly sum up what you meant for an entire generation. You taught us that putting in work and making sacrifices would take you everywhere you want to go. Your work on this planet was so far from done. The next chapter of your life as a coach and a full-time father was just starting.

It’s cliche to say the Mamba Mentality was a way of life. However it really was and not just for basketball players. It’s a mentality of believing you control your own destiny. You decide how great you will be based on the time you practice and put into your craft. The confidence you showed on the court wasn’t a bad attitude it was because you knew you put in more work than everyone else on that court.

How do you properly say goodbye to the person who made you love with competition? No plays off, no days off, everyday you have to prove why you are the best with your level of dedication and hard work.

There have been other great players, but Kobe is different. The name Kobe became it’s own thing, an action of “owning your opponent”. For as great as Michael Jordan is, you don’t yell “Jordan” when you throw something in the garbage. Kobe Bryant is a part of our culture whether you watched basketball or not.

In a way it seemed like his life was just beginning, Sure his basketball glory days were behind him, but he was watching basketball through his daughter’s eyes. He had a new role, mentor and coach. The love that he had for the game was passed on to his 13 year old daughter Gianna. GiGi, often described as Kobe’s twin, owned the same drive for excellence that Kobe possessed in his playing days. For the first time, he was seeing the game through someone else’s eyes. He was seeing the game through someone else’s passion. He was seeing someone he love fall in love with the game he loved.

Kobe told people he didn’t need a son because GiGi would carry the Mamba legacy. The bond that these two shared was so beautiful to watch from afar. Sitting court side discussing schemes, the father daughter pair were becoming staples at all of the big games. It was GiGi who got her dad back into watching basketball. He was asked about coaching his daughter at his Mamba Youth Academy and said the most important thing was, “Making sure she knows that I love her whether she plays well or plays like crap.”

As much pain as we are all experiencing, none of us can imagine the devastation Vanessa Bryant and her other three daughters are undergoing. In just a matter of moments, all of their lives drastically changed forever. Vanessa has always stood by Kobe and now she must walk alone with her three daughters.

This isn’t the end. We will carry on your legacy every single day by pushing ourselves to be the best version of ourselves even when we’re tired or in pain like you would every night on the court. We know that you and GiGi are balling out with Craig Sager on the sideline and Dr. Buss looking on.

RIP Kobe Bryant. RIP GiGi Bryant. RIP John Altobelli. RIP Keri Altobelli. RIP Alyssa Altobelli. RIP Christina Mauser. RIP Sarah Chester. RIP Payton Chester. RIP Ara Zobayan. Our hearts are with all of your families.