It is still hard to comprehend that Kobe Bryant has not been alive to witness the majority of his post-NBA career accolades. He was absent for his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame, the NBA All-75 team selection, and the recent unveiling of his statue outside of Crypto.com Arena.
Bryant, along with his daughter Gianna and eight others, tragically lost their lives in a helicopter accident on January 26, 2020. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, four years ago feels like an eternity. The 2020 NBA All-Star Game, which introduced the Kobe fourth-quarter score, took place in Chicago just three weeks before his untimely passing. His public memorial occurred eight days later, and shortly after that, the world came to a halt due to the pandemic. Bryant’s family was forced to face the harsh reality that millions of others were also experiencing – grieving amidst a viral plague.
I never had the opportunity to fully process the grief that comes with losing someone who I first saw on the news when I was seven years old, and then watched religiously on TNT for two decades. I vividly remember watching his appearance on Moesha, almost as clearly as I recall his iconic last shot against the Utah Jazz.
It is also challenging to fully grasp the reality of his death because I reside in Los Angeles. Bryant’s devoted fans are everywhere, amplifying his personality traits – stubborn and obsessive. In LA, these traits are magnified because nearly everyone in the second-largest metropolitan area in the United States is part of that group.
I moved to LA a little over a month before the start of the 2018-19 season. The tension surrounding Lakers fans’ reception of LeBron James, as portrayed in the media, was indeed real. And it still is. When watching the Lakers at a local bar, you can bet that one, if not all, of these three phrases will be uttered: “He’s still not Kobe,” “Kobe would’ve made that shot,” “Kobe’s the best.” If James, or whoever he passes to, misses a shot, you can expect at least five minutes of conversation about Bryant.
Bryant’s fans act as the guardians of his legacy, ready to defend it against any criticism, even from someone wearing a Clippers jersey at the bar. They swiftly and decisively take action.
Hearing his name mentioned so frequently before the pandemic, then hardly hearing it at all due to isolation, and then hearing it again as soon as I ventured back outside, combined with the numerous murals scattered throughout the city, it feels as if he never left.
Engaging in a lengthy conversation with a devoted fan about Bryant will eventually turn somber. However, when it comes to general sports discussions, he remains the standard-bearer. I recall a conversation I had with my landlord’s son a few years ago. He is not a big basketball fan, and I can’t even recall the player I was describing or the sport they played. But when I finished describing the player’s characteristics, his response was, “Oh, like Kobe.”
Here in Los Angeles, Bryant doesn’t feel like he’s gone because people don’t speak of him in the past tense. It’s always about how Kobe would do things differently, not how he did. He is still regarded as the best, not as someone who was the best.
In a city fueled by star power, there is one star that will never fade away. As someone who never had the chance to meet Bryant, it may take me leaving LA for the finality of his death to truly sink in.
Bryant was unable to physically accept the honors of being an all-time great. His wife has consistently stepped in to represent him. Apologies to Drake, but for those fortunate enough, there will always be someone who stood by us in most aspects of life, other than shooting in the gym, to carry our legacy when we are no longer here.
Since we never got to witness Bryant’s gate slowing down like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s or the wisdom in his eyes like Jerry West, the energy that radiated from him still echoes throughout the world. That is one significant reason why he doesn’t feel completely gone. But what truly keeps him alive is the unwavering dedication of the people who refuse to let his memory fade away.
According to the Source deadspin.com