THE sporting world lost a true icon this week.
Retired American basketball superstar Kobe Bryant, 41, and his daughter Gianna were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday (local time) in California, shocking the entire world.
Every death in that accident was an absolute tragedy, none more than another, but despite that Bryant was the headline purely because of who he
was and what he achieved in life.
His legacy in the National Basketball Association – one of the world’s biggest sporting organisations – is massive
In his 20-year NBA career, spent entirely with the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant won five NBA championships, was an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team and 12-time member of the
All-Defensive Team, was named the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and was a two-time NBA Finals MVP winner.
That record puts him among the greats – in fact, he’s probably the bridge between Michael Jordan and LeBron James in that conversation.
Players just coming into the NBA now would be too young to remember prime Jordan; it was all Kobe when they were growing up.
The older players knew and respected him as the gold standard, and that he was.
His death has been felt the world over.
Even to casual fans of the game he was readily recognisable.
He wasn’t just a basketball star, he was a sporting star.
For athletes in any sport, or even in life in general, his sheer determination and relentless will to win set the perfect example.
It can only be hoped that his legacy continues as the world mourns what has happened.
Rest in peace, all.
