Bryant’s passing adds to appeal of this fine biography

JUST OVER two weeks ago the news broke that NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, were two of nine people killed when the helicopter they were travelling in crashed into the side of a mountain in Calabasas, California.

The former Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard had been on his way to a basketball game at his Mamba Academy in Thousand Oaks.

The news broke pretty quickly and so began a stream of online mourning that peaked in the U.S.A. but travelled across the globe.

The sheer outpouring of emotions online, especially on social media, was unlike anything we’ve seen for a good long time, probably since Michael Jackson passed away when Twitter was only in its infancy for many.

It said much about how important Bryant was for the sport of basketball. While, in most observers’ estimations, the Philly native never quite reached the legend of Michael Jordan, he was one of the most important players in the sport’s history.

It probably hurt people even more because the eldest of his four children was on board too. That kind of hurt is felt by anyone with a child, as one realises that it leaves a mother and three grieving siblings.

People may not be able to relate to his life, but they can to such a situation.

While it might have been easier to read ‘Showboat - The life of Kobe

Bryant’ while he was still with us, it was probably as good a time as any to get great insight into his life, from the beginning to his retirement in 2016.

And that’s exactly what this publication by journalist Roland Lazenby was, a fantastically put together biography.

There is no stone left unturned here, as

Lazenby hits on everything and does it in a way that anyone can understand.

As someone who follows UW-Green

Bay in the college game but only keeps a passing eye on how the Milwaukee Bucks are getting on in the NBA, this reviewer had heard reports and tid-bits but really knew very little about Kobe Bean Bryant.

‘Showboat’ tells the reader as much as anything short of knowing Bryant personally would. Lazenby delves into all angles of the Lakers star and talks with as many of those around him as he could get access to.

He also does extensive research, the bibliography of which is listed at the end of the book. In chronological order, the first section deals with the Bryant family before Kobe. It dips into the life of his grandparents and talks in depth about his parents’ upbringing.

You therefore have a feel for the family when Kobe is introduced in section two of the book, which goes through his early childhood years.

His high school days are the crux of section three, while the remaining 350-odd pages deal with his professional career and life around it.

This reviewer doesn’t want to give too much away on his personality, as that’s probably the story in the story. Think a team sports version of Tiger Woods but with murkier edges. It’s worth buying this publication alone for the author’s ability to delve into Bryant’s psyche.

It will be interesting to see, following the death of Bryant, if Lazenby will go back and complete a second edition, adding a chapter on the last four years of his life to bring this book to somewhere approaching 700 pages.

There are worse things you could do than head down to ‘The Book Centre’ and pick up ‘Showboat’, even if you aren’t a basketball fan. This is the story of one of the all-time greats and will have plenty of appeal.

DEAN GOODISON

Visit The Book Centre on Wexford’s Main Street for the very best selection of sports books.