Five time NBA champion. Two time NBA Finals MVP. Two time scoring champion, along with an endless list of accolades. Arguably one of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball. This guaranteed Hall of Famer sees the light at the end of the tunnel as his career may come to an end on April 13, 2016 if the Los Angeles Lakers do not clinch a playoff spot.
I grew up watching Kobe Bryant take the last shots in games before the buzzer, then his teammates charge at him like a mad stampede after the sound of nylon string clashes with leather. I always wanted to be like Kobe, which was the reason I chose to play basketball at an early age. My grandmother surprised me with a 10 foot basketball hoop for my birthday one year, so I practiced everyday on the dirt out in my backyard as I watched the NBA double-headers on TNT, ESPN and ABC through the windows.
Growing up as a child in Italy, Kobe Bryant’s basketball journey began through his father’s, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, prior NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Italian League. Bryant eventually moved back to the US where he lived in Ardmore, Pennsylvania which is only about an hour away from the capital, Harrisburg, where I lived in 2013. Bryant later attended Lower Merion High School and led them to four state championships in a row, then was drafted out of high school to the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 NBA Draft. After being traded, Bryant’s 20 year career with the L.A. Lakers began, as kids like me grew up watching the Black Mamba strike his prey.
Even though I missed out on the first half of his career, I experienced the latter half of greatness unfold such as his 81 point game, multiple All Star Weekend appearances, the NBA Finals performances and his recent milestone of placing third on the all time scoring list with 33,000+ points right above Michael Jordan (another story). Not mentioning NBA2k10 on Xbox 360, which was a tribute to Kobe and the Lakers defeating the Boston Celtics in the Finals where Bryant was named MVP.
Kobe Bryant’s legendary career will come to an end within the next few months and he can easily be named the greatest basketball player of all time.
I’ll be able to say that Kobe Bryant was not only one of my favorite players, but definitely had a powerful influence on my life; therefore I chose to wear the number 24 this season. Just as Bryant impacted my life, I hope to change and influence the lives of others where they will be able to tell stories of me in the future.
