Thursday represents a big day for the Los Angeles Lakers with them finally immortalizing the late, great Kobe Bryant with a statue. Bryant was a true icon who meant a tremendous amount to the Lakers franchise and basketball fans around the world.
While his passing still impacts many, Bryant’s legacy is living on and this statue being revealed plays a massive part in that.
The Black Mamba was a one-of-a-kind person and basketball player who deserved to be here to witness this great moment. Former teammate Derek Fisher detailed how he did not foresee the kind of greatness Bryant was capable of even if Kobe knew how great he was, via Broderick Turner of L.A. Times:
“From my lens, I was a guy that had just finished playing four years of college basketball. So, it was not within my scope or belief that a kid coming straight out of high school could make the transition soon enough to become one of the all-time greats. So, that’s kind of how it all started. I think that’s what allowed our relationship to obviously come what it became, because I didn’t place the type of legacy defining expectations on Kob that he had for himself. It took me a while to learn that, ‘Yeah, he was capable of it,’ but that was what he really sought for himself too. Like, I didn’t pick up on that really our first year together.”
Kobe held himself to a high standard and pushed himself to the absolute limit. As mentioned, everyone wishes Bryant was here to witness this unveiling, but Fisher speculated what the Lakers legend would have said:
“If he was here to give his speech, I think he would definitely find a way to efficiently say what he was always about. He went from a guy that seems to be at least driven only by self and doing for himself. By the time his career culminated and we lost him four years ago, I think if he were present, he would efficiently find a way to speak to how really all of our legacies are defined by how much greatness we have inspired in other people. What have we done to improve the world, improve the lives of other people? What have you done today to help support girls and women in sports and in business? What have you done to today for someone who has worked 20 years in one profession and was forced, whether by Father Time or whatever, and moved on to other walks of life and win Oscars and Emmys and other things that he was achieving? He was a multilayered human being, even though we all remember his greatness as a basketball player. I think he would efficiently find a way to speak to how important it is to dream, to have a vision, to basically make a plan, believe in that plan, execute the plan and inspire others and do it your way, kind of Frank Sinatra-ish kind of, and inspire other people. That was a gift he developed over time.”
Nonetheless, it will be an emotional ceremony for all those involved and a great moment. No one is more deserving than Bryant, who gave his all in 20 seasons, resulting in five championships.
LeBron James: Lakers legend Kobe Bryant had no flaws in his game
When reflecting on the Lakers legend, Bryant’s scoring immediately comes to mind. However, LeBron James believes that Kobe had no flaws in his game.
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