Kobe was this generation's Jordan
Chesapeake Energy Arena fell dark a few minutes before tipoff, and when that familiar face appeared on the big screens, the crowd fell silent, too.
Kobe Bryant brought everything to a standstill.
After a few solemn words about the basketball legend's death Sunday and about his impact on so many, Thunder public-address announcer Mario Nanni asked for a moment of silence.
It lasted 8 seconds. Despite this being a game with potential playoff implications – the Thunder and Mavericks are jockeying for position in the West – the night had a heavy purple-and-gold undertone. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came into the arena wearing a gold Lakers jersey with Kobe's No. 8. Dennis Schroder wore shiny gold shoes. Billy Donovan and all of his assistants wore a purple and gold ribbon on their lapels.
Yes, a game was played.
Dallas defeated OKC 107-97 and got a leg up in the standings. But as much as anything, this was a night about Kobe.
And it should have been.
It was important for him to be honored. Not just because of the change he affected on the game. Not just because of the impact he had on the league. It was important because he was important to so many players on the court.
Boston coach Brad Stevens explained it most succinctly and eloquently Sunday.
“Kobe is their Jordan,” he said of the league's younger players.
To older players like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul, Kobe was a friend. They played in All-Star games together. They became league leaders together. Even though some became greater than others, they saw each other as not only buddies but also equals.
Paul didn't play Monday, officially out because of “personal reasons.”
He is no doubt in mourning.
Kobe's death affected guys like CP3 differently than it did the likes of SGA. When Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort or even Schroder or Danillo Gallinari were coming up, Kobe was already a superstar. He was already Kobe.
He was their ideal. “He was a guy I looked up to growing up,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “A lot of guys in the league I know look up to him. He's done wonderful things for the league and wonderful things for me.”
Kobe was gifted with great talent, of course, but he became one of the greatest players in the history of basketball because of how he worked. He developed a game with no weaknesses. He could drive. Shoot. Pass. He could score every way imaginable.
And defense? He was great on that end of the court, too.
“He had the drive to get the most out of his ability,” Donovan said, adding that was a great example for young players. “It's getting young people to understand how hard they've got to work, how driven they've got to be.
“He was a guy that was incredibly passionate about being the very, very best he could be.”
Then to top it all off, Kobe had this takeno-prisoners attitude. He embraced the Black Mamba persona, attacking any adversary and backing down from no challenge.
That resonated with many, especially youngsters who grew up with Kobe. How many people of a certain age have shot a wadded up piece of paper towards a trash can and yelled, “Kobe!” as it soared toward the receptacle?
Kobe was a cultural touchstone.
But for young basketball players, he was a standard. An ideal they aspired to reach.
“The NBA is what it is right now because of him,” Gallinari said. “The way that he approached the game and the way that he approached his job I think is something that every young player should learn from, every young player should get as an example.”
Now, don't misunderstand – Kobe wasn't perfect. Like all of us, he made mistakes. None was more egregious, of course, than the charges of sexual assault and false imprisonment he faced in 2003. He never admitted guilt, but after the case was dropped, he made a statement that was at the very least an admission of culpability. Kobe wasn't a saint. Then again, neither was Jordan. Or Wilt. Or any other transcendent player. But that didn't make them any less important in inspiring the next generation of players.
“He changed basketball,” Schroder said.
Kobe Bryant was the standard so many of today's NBA players aspired to reach. They wanted to play like him. Shoot like him. Soar like him. He motivated many of the players who now thrill us.
Because of that, we should all be grateful.