Kobe Bryant’s record in sport is beyond question as debate begins about just how good he really was
A tragic helicopter crash has robbed the world of one of the greatest basketball players ever. Some said he was a polarising, stubborn figure — others say he was a legend.
News
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The world of sport has lost one of the greats and you won’t find anyone today saying anything about Kobe Bryant other than he was one of the finest basketball players ever, an athlete who inspired a generation to reach for ever greater heights.
That is as it should be when a man who has given the world so many wonderful moments in the theatre of sport is killed tragically, along with his beautiful daughter.
At a time like this, people want to remember the moments of greatness that suggested Kobe Bryant was more than just an elite athlete – he was simply one of the best athletes of all time and basketball and the Lakers and the fans were damn lucky to have him.
There will be time enough, of course, in the coming weeks, months and years to consider his fuller legacy, to balance the athletic greatness with the inevitable flaws that make up any human being. More about that later.
The stunning reality is that just hours after LeBron James surpassed Kobe Bryant as the third-highest points scorer of all time in the NBA, Bryant, 41, was dead, killed in a shocking helicopter accident.
When he retired in 2016, the legendary LA Laker finished with 33,643 points across 20 seasons, at an average of 25 points a game.
He chalked up five NBA Championships, two NBA Finals MVP, become an 18-time NBA All-Star, win two Olympic gold medals in Men’s Basketball, and just for good measure, he won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his film Dear Basketball.
MORE NEWS
‘Just don’t have the words’: NBA legends, celebs mourn Kobe
Meghan drops British citizenship plans
Canberra demands unis focus on Australia
So just how good was he?
Well, when the man known as the best player to ever play the game, Michael Jordan, says he thinks Kobe Bryant in his prime would have been the only man to ever beat Jordan in a game of one-on-one because "Kobe steals all my moves”, it says Bryant was very good indeed.
“He’s our Michael Jordan for my generation,” said Dirk Nowitzki, who played 21 years with the Dallas Mavericks.
Renowned for his incredible work ethic, Bryant has been credited for inspiring some of the modern greats to reach new heights.
“Kobe showed me that limits upon performance exist only in our minds,” says Derek Fisher, who won five NBA championships with the Lakers.
Another five-time champ, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, was his mentor and another who admired Bryant not for just having talent, but for working hard to make the most of it.
“He’s played hurt. And we’ve got five championship banners to show for it.”
Following his retirement from the NBA, Bryant said he’d rather be remembered for his business investment career than basketball.
“You don’t want to jump into something if you’re not passionate about it,” he said of the venture capital fund he established.
“There’s no greater feeling than helping entrepreneurs become successful and being part of something that is actually helping their dreams come true. There is no greater feeling.
“Playing basketball, the focus is always on winning – winning championships, winning championships and winning championships.
“Championships and MVP awards come and go. But if you really want to create something that will last generations, you have to help inspire the next generation to do something great. Then that generation will inspire the one behind them.
“That’s when you create something forever.”
Hollywood loved him, too. In 2011, Kobe Bryant became the first professional athlete who was not an actor to have his hand and footprints enshrined at Hollywood’s historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
He might have become a legend on the court, but Bryant left an indelible mark on tinsel town.
In 2018, he notched another first after he became the only athlete to ever win a basketball championship and an Academy Award.
And his Oscar-winning animated short Dear Basketball was based on a poem which, you guessed it, he wrote himself.
“It was pretty surreal to see myself animated. I once dreamt of having a signature Nike shoe, but I never thought I’d be animated – that pretty much tops everything!”
MORE NEWS
Epstein madam ‘regular palace visitor’
Trump tells of impeachment ‘shredding’
‘I can’t watch it’: ONJ’s bushfire horror
The guy even had a brief music career including a planned rap album which was never released – but probably would have topped the charts.
Was there anything this guy couldn’t do?
But even the greatest are, in the end, human and Bryant’s legacy was dented in 2003 when a 19-year-old hotel employee filed a sexual assault complaint against him.
After admitting to having adulterous sex with the woman but denying the assault, the case was dropped when she refused to testify. A separate civil suit was settled out of court.
Over the years, US sports and opinion writers have debated how Kobe Bryant the man should be remembered. Some said he was a polarising, stubborn figure who never recovered from the assault allegation and whose ultra-competitive nature tended to keep other players away.
Known to be brilliant and witty when he felt like it, he sometimes frustrated observers by so rarely showing this side of his personality.
So, how good was he? Maybe the best way to judge that is to look at what opposition fans thought of him.
They hated him and looked for any excuse they could find to tear him down – because he was always the bloke who was making sure their team couldn’t win the title.
Yes, he was that good.
Originally published as Kobe Bryant’s record in sport is beyond question as debate begins about just how good he really was
‘You have to be good on your own’: JLo breaks silence on split
Jennifer Lopez has revealed she has finally sworn off men as she hints at the real reason behind her split with Ben Affleck, breaking her silence in sensational fashion.
Terror as pilot dies mid-flight
The pilot of an Airbus 350 full of passengers has died midair forcing his co-pilot to make a desperate emergency detour to New York.