SAD FAREWELL TO KOBE, ONE OF THE GREATS

KOBE BRYANT was a man you loved to hate.

And as a Boston Celtics fan, there were times when he almost made you fall out of love with basketball.

I hated the way he was such a Michael Jordan clone. Hated the smug grin. And most of all, I hated the way he used to beat my team (above).

When you’ve felt the sting of the Black Mamba in the NBA finals, you stay stung.

I rooted for the opposition countless times. I watched in horror as Bryant’s Lakers wiped out a 16-point deficit to Scottie Pippen’s Portland Trail Blazers to win the 2000 Western Conference Finals.

I sat in London’s O2 Arena with an Argentina shirt on cheering Manu Ginobili and the boys as they lost to Team USA in the 2012 Olympic semifinals with Bryant highfiving all over the place.

And through it all was that annoying, virtually unstoppable turnaround jump shot. Kobe Bryant was the guy you loved to beat. It just didn’t happen very often. Because he was so damn good.

They say you judge yourself by your rivals, and all those players who came up against him in a 20-year career cut short by an Achilles injury are lucky to have had him. He’s been their reference point. For many, their idol.

Bryant hasn’t always been a shining ambassador for basketball. There was the 2003 sexual assault accusation, and the legal dispute with his mum and dad after they auctioned off some memorabilia.

There was the feud with Shaquille O’Neal (with Bryant, below), which ended the Lakers dynasty. But he had always been there. The face of the sport.

Since he retired, he had softened too, become more likeable even. Old rivals would seek him out to practice with. New kids on the block would seek him out for advice. He inspired a generation.

A five-time NBA champion, he is regarded as one of the greatest players ever. Some say the greatest of all time.

Many routinely namedrop him as the greatest competitor they ever faced. Whenever my Celtics did, it was torture.

But now he’s gone. And you miss it. You miss the rivalry. You miss wanting to beat him so bad. You even miss the way he crushed your dreams.

Rest in peace Kobe. You left us too soon.