More than basketball, Kobe Bryant’s legacy was as a dad
He was a giant on the court, but past the titles, all-star games, MVP honour and 60 points against Utah in his final game, Kobe Bryant was an inspiration to fathers, writes Darren Levin.
Rendezview
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rendezview. Followed categories will be added to My News.
I didn’t cry when David Bowie died. I may’ve welled up a bit for Leonard Cohen.
I can’t remember what I did for Prince, although it probably involved listening to Purple Rain on repeat.
But when the news of Kobe Bryant’s death came through on Saturday morning via text from my brother, I was sad, shocked and mostly numb.
Celebrity deaths are complicated and strange, but they have the ability to be a moment that unites us in our humanity, which is impressive give we can’t even agree on what side of the road to drive on or a singular measurement scale.
Kobe was 6’6 in the imperial system, but he was a giant in basketball terms.
I was lucky enough to see him play with his old teammate Shaq – a literal giant at 7’1 – against Orlando Magic in 1998. He wasn’t a superstar then, just a promising guard with a lot of expectations. But when he came off the bench, scoring 16 points and turning the game in the dying seconds, we all knew we were in the presence of basketball greatness.
Five titles, 18 all-star games, and an MVP honour later, that part of his legacy is undeniable.
And yet if you were to ask me about Kobe Bryant in the days before his death, my mind wouldn’t go to the 81 points he scored against the Raptors, the two outrageous buzzer beaters in a single game against Portland, or the 60 points against Utah in his final game in 2016.
When I think about Kobe, I don’t think basketball icon – I think about him as a dad.
There’s a video circulating at the moment that shows his pride in his daughter Gianna’s basketball achievements. In another, they’re sitting together at a basketball game, Kobe explaining the intricacies of a particular play before Gianna – better known as Gigi – shoots him a look that says, “I get it Dad.”
Kobe stopped watching basketball after he retired. But it was Gigi who renewed his love for the game. Together they’d watch every game. “And I mean every game,” he said in an interview earlier this year.
It made me think of my relationship with my eldest daughter, a sport tragic like Gigi, who schlepped me to countless footy games last season and renewed my lapsed love for cricket with her most recent summer obsession: the Big Bash league.
When news emerged that Gigi died with Kobe in the crash, it felt like a death in my own family. This abstract godlike figure had suddenly become relatable, and the tears didn’t stop flowing.
In tributes, friends, teammates and commentators spoke about Kobe’s maniacal thirst for knowledge, his obsession with training, and his infamous “Mamba Mentality” – a win-at-all-costs personal brand that saw him waking up at 4am to shoot 800 baskets in the gym.
But in retirement, he’d shuttle his daughters around Orange County and began coaching Gigi’s basketball team with the same competitive intensity he’d applied throughout his basketball career.
“His life revolved around their lives,” TV host and friend Jimmy Kimmel said. “He was very proud of them. He loved being a father.”
Free from the shackles of trying to be the greatest basketballer ever, Kobe found an infinitely more rewarding second act as a dad.
So it seemed fitting that on the day he died I found myself at Marvel Stadium watching Big Bash cricket with my daughter. I thought about him and Gigi in that moment together, and the tears came again.
The sport was different, the seats were worse, but just being there with my daughter was the most beautiful tribute I could give to them.
Darren Levin is a columnist for RendezView.com.au
Originally published as More than basketball, Kobe Bryant’s legacy was as a dad