Kobe Bryant (1978-2020): A Complicated Legacy

The helicopter crash outside of Los Angeles on Sunday that claimed the lives of nine people, which included the pilot, a college baseball coach, a retired NBA star and his daughter, made the world stop in its tracks  The NFL Pro Bowl in Orlando, the Farmers Insurance golf tournament near San Diego and the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles that were held that day were rendered even less significant than normal.  Because the NBA star who died in the crash was Kobe Bryant, who was 41 years old.

Bryant played 20 seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers (1996-2016), winning five NBA titles and two Olympic gold medals for the United States.  He was an 18-time All Star and and the league MVP in 2008.

In the years between Michael Jordan's retirement and the ascendancy of LeBron James, Bryant was the face of the NBA.  The way he played was considered on a par with the all-time greats, and became the inspiration for all those that followed.  But he left behind a legacy on and off the court that could only be described as complicated.

• Bryant went directly from high school into the NBA, having somehow maneuvered himself into a trade with the Lakers from the Charlotte Hornets, the team that drafted him in 1996.
• During his initial run of NBA championships, Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal feuded with each other early and often over who ran the Lakers.  The problem was solved when O'Neal was traded.
• In 2003, Bryant got involved in a sensational trial in which he was accused of allegedly raping a 19-year old Colorado woman that threatened to end his career.  It ended when she refused to testify and Bryant got back his reputation, minus a few endorsements.  Wonder whatever happened to that woman?
• Sometimes Bryant thought he was the game, making great plays by himself.  He once scored 81 points on the Toronto Raptors in a 2006 game, which is 19 points fewer than Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scored in a 1962 game at Hershey, PA. against the New York Knicks.  Other times, nearing the end of his career, he was in the entire game though racked with injuries.  But in his final game, he dropped 60 points against the Utah Jazz.

Kobe Bryant is survived by his wife Vanessa and three other daughters.  His name and the way he played will be remembered for as long as there is basketball, but we shouldn't forget the way he has handled his life all these years.