We can learn from how Kobe Bryant played the game and was a father to his daughters
I never met Kobe Bryant. To be quite honest, I cheered against him for many years. Why? Because he was a winner, he was a superstar on the basketball court and after Michael Jordan retired he was the greatest player I ever saw. I wasn’t a Lakers fan, which made it hard to like Kobe.
I grew up a Dallas Mavericks fan, and with Kobe in the Western Conference it seemed that most years the Mavs had no shot at reaching the NBA Finals. The Mavs won the 2011 NBA title, sweeping the Lakers in the playoffs on their way to the championship. And even with the knowledge that no NBA team had ever won a series when trailing 3-0, and with the Mavs on the verge of a sweep, I was scared Kobe would make history and lead the Lakers to four straight wins with his incredible will to win.
The older I got, the more I respected Kobe.
The way he was the ultimate champion — winning five NBA titles, all for the same organization. The way he tore his Achilles, then stepped to the free throw line to shoot the foul shots before heading to the locker room. The way he rehabbed so hard to get back on the court when he knew his career was winding down. It would have been easy to retire, already a legend. The way he scored 60 points in the final game of his career, rising up one final time to show off his killer instinct and his incredible scoring ability.
And the way he loved his daughters, constantly talked about them, praised them, taught them everything he could about basketball and about life. No, Kobe wasn’t perfect, none of us are, but he had a genuine love for his daughters that as a relatively young father myself was something to admire.
I guess that’s why Sunday’s stunning news hit all of us so hard. Most of us didn’t know Kobe personally, but for my generation we felt like we did. We grew up watching him go from a young kid challenging Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan with no fear, to the best player in the league and arguably the greatest Laker of all time. We hated him at times, loved him at others and always respected him and appreciated him.
I was on the golf course when I got a text Sunday afternoon that read “Kobe RIP.” I was confused at first. ... “Wait. Kobe Bryant died?” ... “I think. For real,” was the response. I immediately went to Twitter for updates, hoping this was a cruel joke and someone was making a mistake. It was not. Kobe Bryant was dead at 41, and his daughter Gianna had died as well.
For the next several holes I stayed in the golf cart while the rest of our foursome played. I tried to gather my thoughts. I fought back tears, then let some flow. Why had this happened, and why was I so emotional? What was wrong with me? I’d never met the guy, never been in the same room as him. Why did it feel like a family member had died?
I quickly realized I wasn’t alone. I called my brother, a fellow Mavs fan, to see if he had heard the news. He had not, and when I told him he lost it. “No, please no. You’ve got to be kidding me. Oh, my God.” Then phone calls started to come in from some of my friends. “I can’t stop crying,” one said. “This is just so hard. He was so young. He had so much life left to live.” Indeed he did. We all felt the same way. All sick to our stomachs. All heartbroken. It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
Kobe should’ve been going to Lakers games for another four decades. He should’ve been attending all-star games as a living legend, someone for Zion Williamson and Trae Young and Luka Doncic and the next generation of superstars to come over to and pay respect to and thank for paving the way. Today’s NBA stars all grew up idolizing Kobe. Kobe wanted to be like Michael Jordan. Today’s players wanted to be like Kobe.
Throughout the day and late into the night I stayed on Twitter, watched ESPN, watched the Grammys, spoke with friends and learned more about the man that was Kobe Bryant. I learned more about his love for his daughters, his love for women’s basketball, how hard he fought to grow the sport of women’s basketball so that the stars of that sport will one day become household names. So that my daughter or your daughter might have players to look up to in the WNBA, to strive to be like, the way our generation grew up wanting to be like Kobe.
There are so many lessons we can learn from Kobe.
The importance of hard work and determination. The importance of loving your family with your whole heart. The importance of living every day to the fullest. Of not taking days or hours for granted. Life’s too short to not tell your friends and family members that you love them every day. To not hug or kiss the ones you care about the most. To hold grudges or allow negative thoughts to rule your mind.
Tomorrow isn’t promised. Sunday was a sad reminder of that. Make the most of every second, of every hour, of every day. It’s what Kobe would want, and it’s part of the incredible legacy he leaves behind.
This story was originally published January 27, 2020 at 11:09 AM with the headline "We can learn from how Kobe Bryant played the game and was a father to his daughters."
