Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
It still doesn’t feel real.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images.)
I don’t think I can bring myself to write regular columns at the moment because of what’s going on. Los Angeles lost a son. He’s a hero to many. A mentor to a lot of people. Someone that people looked to when they ask themselves the question, “What should I do to get better?”
Kobe Bryant is dead at the age of 41.
Kobe Bryant is the reason why many people picked up a ball and started playing the game. To many, he is Los Angeles Lakers basketball. One generation grew up with the Showtime Lakers. But another grew up with either the Kobe/Shaq era in the early 2000s or the Kobe/Pau Gasol team in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Either way, he was the man for many fans and many basketball players.
He elicited so many emotions around basketball circles. Whenever a greatest of all-time debate happened, Kobe was always ALWAYS in the middle of the conversation. And whatever you think of his basketball, he DESERVED to be in those talks. You don’t help lead a team to five championships by sitting around; he did everything he could to win those, efficiency be damned. He willed those Laker teams to victories.
Kobe played in the NBA for 20 years. I saw his NBA career through all the ups and downs. He started out as a rising star that wasn’t afraid to take the shot. He became a bonafide all-star as he and Shaq led the Lakers to the last threepeat in the NBA. His star fell after the 2003 Colorado sexual assault case (more on this in a bit). He tried to rise again but was frustrated with the way the team was run. Then his career got a rejuvenation when Derek Fisher and THEN Pau Gasol went to the Lakers. He got two more championships and put himself in elite company. And then he became an elder statesman for the league. Fittingly enough, he went down shooting in his last NBA game, scoring 60 points in 50 shots.
I mentioned the 2003 Colorado sexual assault case. That will forever make my feelings complicated for Kobe. My heart goes out to all the sexual assault survivors. This isn’t something you sweep under the rug; it happened and it cannot be erased.
But I’m also not going to tell people how to mourn and how to feel. Kobe Bryant meant a lot to many people whether they met him or not. Kobe has given advice to a lot of athletes, professional or aspiring professionals. He is a very vocal supporter of women’s basketball, as it continues to gain traction here in the United States. He has a training facility and holds mini-training camps with NBA and WNBA players, among many athletes.
And there is so much to admire about Kobe. His work ethic is legendary. He had a will to win that very few could match. He would rip your heart out on the basketball court. But what he did after he retired is even more laudable. He won an Oscar after his NBA retirement. And all he seemed to talk about was family and be a good dad to his four daughters and husband to Vanessa.
We were getting ready to see his basketball legacy being carried over. Oh, Gianna, that poor girl. She already had her father’s basketball moves and was said to be hellbent on going to UConn in a few years. We wanted to see basketball royalty in the WNBA. She had an entire life ahead of her. And it’s not going to happen.
I also don’t want to forget about the other passengers that died in that tragic crash:
Rest in peace to all of them.
(PHOTO CREDIT: CBS News.)
Kobe Bryant meant a lot to the game of basketball. He helped raise the sport to new levels. To many people, he IS basketball. There were many people on the playground in pick-up games or in an office shooting crumpled paper balls into trash cans yelling, “KOBE!” He is a complicated human being, no doubt, but his legacy in basketball and sport is undeniable.
I’ll leave the scoreboard here and the play of the day. No Stupid Power Rankings this week because of what happened. And I’m not even sure I can write a regular basketball column in the days to come.
The Scoreboard
HOU 110 (28-17) @ DEN 117 (32-14)
TOR 110 (32-14) @ SA 106 (20-25)
WAS 133 (15-30) @ ATL 152 (12-35)
BRK 97 (19-26) @ NY 110 (13-34)
LAC 112 (33-14) @ ORL 97 (21-26)
PHX 109 (19-27) @ MEM 114 (22-24)
BOS 108 (30-15) @ NO 123 (18-29)
IND 129 (30-17) @ POR 139 (19-27)
Watch This Play
Trae Young was Gianna Bryant‘s favorite player. He wore #8 in tribute to the late Kobe. He drains the halfcourt shot.
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA On Fire.)
God rest all of their souls.
Hug your loved ones a little tighter today. And don’t forget to tell your friends and family you love them.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Robert Gauthier/L.A. Times.)
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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