The world was left silent on Jan. 26 with the passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna (Gigi) Bryant. It’s still so hard to believe that this five-time champion was laid to rest on February 7th alongside his daughter. Leaving the world at such young ages, Kobe 41 and Gianna 13, they still had so much more work to do for the world and so many more marks to leave on their fans and families.
Kobe Bryant was not just an athlete, he was an author, a father, a husband, and a friend. He was a living legend. Kobe was the celebrity who everybody knew, whether you played basketball or not. Kobe is a man who you can scream his name and everybody knows who you’re talking about, whether you called this last name out or not. To people shooting in garbage cans with paper balls screaming “KOBE ‘’ to people writing ‘MAMBA’ on their athletic sneakers.
Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia on August 23, 1978, to former NBA player Joe Bryant and Pamela Coxx. He started playing basketball at the age of 3 and his whole life the Lakers have always been his favorite team. Kobe played 20 consecutive years on the Los Angeles Lakers team and won three championships alongside one of his close friend and teammate Shaquille O’Neal.
Straight out of high school, Kobe joined the NBA at the age of 17, in 1986. Kobe layed his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers. At 34 years old, he became the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points. He also became the all-time leading scorer in Lakers’ franchise history in 2010.
It’s so heartbreaking to hear about celebrities dying, especially the ones who were so positive in the world and did so much for their community. Celebrities like Lebron James, Michael Jordan, Kevin Hart, and many more have expressed love and even gotten tattoos in his remembrance.
Kobe will be greatly misse. Rest in peace to a legend and a beautiful daughter who was being groomed to keep his legacy going.
They will be greatly missed alongside the seven other members who passed away in the helicopter crash — Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Alyssa Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, John Altobelli, Christina Mauser and Ara Zobayan.
Nia Phillips is the Sports Editor for The Falcon Forum.
