Brightest jewel in the Lakers crown
LOSANGELES: He was among the biggest names in the biggest city for show business, his reach no less global than any of the Hollywood icons. But there was nothing ephemeral about Kobe Bryant’s basketball career. Once Charlotte Hornets—he was their 13th pick in 1996—traded the youngster to Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant rose to become the face of the team, NBA and world basketball.
However, through so many highs and some accompanying tumult, Bryant stayed put at Lakers. For all his 20 years as a jewel in the greatest basketball league, as his brand expanded across the Atlantic and beyond, neither his belief in Lakers nor theirs in his would be shaken. Like Messi and Barcelona.
LA Lakers were the greatest NBA team when Bryant began his career. And he built on their standing by helping win five titles. It wasn’t only his rivalry with Shaquille O’Neal that was legendary but Bryant and his senior teammate won three titles together, in 2000, 2001 and 2002, and reached the finals two years later. The friction though was seen as so destructive that Lakers traded Shaquille, six years older to Bryant, to Miami Heat.
Their attitudes were different, and O’Neal felt Bryant’s confidence and business-like approach as arrogance. O’Neal even said at the team meeting that he felt Bryant was “selfish”. However, the signing up of Jackson, winner of six NBA titles, before the 2000 season turned things around. For all his remarkable shooting skill and leadership on the court, Bryant’s work ethic stood out throughout his career.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar, the former Lakers great, tweeted: “Most people will remember Kobe as the magnificent athlete who inspired a whole generation of basketball players. But I will always remember him as a man who was much more than an athlete.”
Shaquille was devastated. He tweeted: “There’s no words to express the pain Im going through with this tragedy of loosing my neice Gigi & my brother @kobebryant I love u and u will be missed. My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers onboard.IMSICKRIGHTNOW.”
Bryant’s stature as a leader among global sporting icons, one who was establishing himself as an entrepreneur, will be his legacy. Hours before his death, he also left a great example of reconciliation as well. O’Neal’s son was one of the last to be texted by Bryant before he boarded the chopper. Shareef O’Neal posted a screen grab of a conversation with Bryant on Sunday morning.
“You good fam?” Bryant asked Shareef, who announced last week that he would take a transfer from UCLA (University of California Los Angeles). “Yeah! Just getting this work in trying to figure out my next move,” Shareef replied. “How you been?”
Between the two messages, Bryant, his daughter and nine others were killed in the crash.