Remembering Kobe Bryant
NBA star’s unexpected death leaves the world searching for answers
Basketball die-hards lost an icon. Angelenos lost a man who was a hero and an inspiration. A dark world lost one of its brightest lights.
Kobe Bryant was one of the few public figures that didn’t need a full name to be recognized. Beyonce. Oprah. Lebron. Madonna. Kobe. Everybody knew his name, kids wanted to be him, coaches quoted him, fans worshiped him. On the court, Bryant established himself as one of the greatest athletes of all time.
Upon entering the league at the young age of 17, he was drafted by the Lakers with whom he spent the entirety of his National Basketball Association (NBA) career. In that 20-year span, he won five NBA titles, four All-Star MVPs and two Olympic gold medals.
He is the Lakers’ career leader in games, minutes, points, field goals made and attempted, 3-pointers made and attempted and free throws made and attempted.
Bryant also ranked third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list (33,643 points) when he retired. On Saturday, the night before his death, fellow NBA superstar LeBron James passed him in Philadelphia, Bryant’s hometown, and bumped Kobe down to fourth on that list.
The list of achievements goes on infinitely. But his innumerable accolades and dominant on-court presence were not the sole reason for the magnitude of the shock which came in the wake of his untimely death.
It came from the sincerity of character, the purity of heart and the aura of goodness Bryant impressed upon the whole world.
Once the headlines of his passing were plastered across every phone, newspaper and television across the nation last Sunday, the news hit hard. It was crushingly difficult to process for not only Bryant’s fellow athletes and his many fans, but for everyone.
Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Penn. in 1978 to parents Joe Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant. Bryant’s father was a former NBA player who instilled his son with a love for the game of basketball at a very young age.
Bryant would later recall in his Oscar-winning 2017 short film “Dear Basketball” that he would fantasize about making game-winning shots in his childhood home by rolling his father’s tube socks into a ball and lobbing three-pointers in a nearby trash can.
Years later, Bryant would stun crowds of adoring fans by morphing these once imaginary shots into potent, opponent-crushing fadeaway baskets.
His signature fadeaway jump shot was modeled after his biggest inspiration, Michael Jordan—an inspiration who would later have this very technique used against him.
This fadeaway, and perhaps more importantly, the development of it, was a hallmark of what Kobe Bryant dubbed the “Mamba Mentality.”
Bryant famously noted that he strove to make his in-game performance like that of the Black Mamba, a snake famous for striking with near perfect accuracy.
But the “Mamba Mentality” wasn’t about talent to Bryant, it was a matter of hard work and dedicated practice.
A special twist on the concept of “growth mindset” thinking, this frame of mind was something that Bryant brought with him to face any challenge. No milestone was a problem, it was just another chance to be better.
In 2003, Bryant was accused of rape by a 19 year old woman who worked at a hotel Kobe was staying at.
Bryant denied the encounter and claimed it was consensual despite evidence suggesting the contrary.Bryant’s accuser dropped all charges, chose not to testify, and a civil suit was settled out of court.
In the wake of these allegations, members of Bryant’s dedicated fanbase shifted their own perceptions of him. However, he didn’t let these allegations define him.
A year later, Bryant came forward to speak on the situation and publicly apologize for his actions.
“Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did,” Bryant said. “After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter.”
In the years that followed, Bryant’s marriage underwent a period of unrest and change—all while under the scrutiny of the public. He and his wife resolved their differences and went on to build a strong family together.
Bryant was as well regarded for his post-NBA philanthropic work as he was for his on-court performance.
Most famously, Bryant operated Mamba Academy, a human performance institute which provided training opportunities for men, women and children.
He and his wife also established the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation which aimed to provide underprivileged youth and the homeless.
Beyond these institutions, Bryant frequently donated his own money to causes he deemed necessary for a brighter world.
Bryant and eight other individuals died in the helicopter crash, one of which was his second daughter, Gianna Bryant. Bryant saw Gianna as the heir to his legacy, as she too was a skilled basketball prodigy.
Bryant is survived by his wife Vanessa Bryant and his three daughters, Natalie, Blanka and Capri.
In Los Angeles, thousands of tearful fans congregated outside Staples Center on Sunday afternoon to remember their hero.
Across the world, from Boston to the Philippines, murals and other memorials went up in the blink of an eye to commemorate a global icon.
In the days since his passing, the greater Santa Clara community has gone through its own process of mourning.
The University’s Pan-African club, Igwebuike (Igwe), held an open discussion in Shapell Lounge on Wednesday to honor the life and legacy of Kobe Bryant.
Students contributed personal anecdotes about Bryant and added messages of gratitude to a purple poster in the shape of Bryant’s famous on-court number 24.
“Kobe wasn’t just an athlete—he was a philanthropist and a community advocate," Igwe member Alonso Billips said. "It’s so sad to realize that a person who was so large in my life is now gone."
Speaking on the passing of the young woman Kobe Bryant saw as the heir to his titanic legacy, Igwe member Kennedy Meyers touched on the tragic loss of Gianna Bryant and her promising future.
“It will always be this myth about what could have been or what would have been with the budding star of Gianna Bryant,” Meyers said.
Echoing the sentiments shared by Meyers and Billips, Steve Nash, Bronco alumnus and former teammate of Bryant, offered his condolences online.
“My heart is broken for Kobe and his family,” Nash tweeted. “I’ll never forget the battles but what I really admired was the father he was to his girls. Rest In Peace old friend with your angel Gianna.”
Los Angeles law enforcement and the Federal Aviation Administration have begun to investigate the circumstances of the helicopter crash which killed Bryant, his daughter and seven other passengers.
The Mamba Mentality was and will continue to be a source of inspiration for many. One could speak at length about what it means to have this mentality, but all it needs is one word. Kobe.
Contact Lacey Yahnke at lyahnke@scu.edu and Noah Sonnenburg at nsonnenburg@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.