Kobe Bryant

Bryant's poise for the game Famous jumper Kobe Bryant is one of the world’s best players to ever play basketball and will go down as one of the greatest. During his special career, Bryant came across obstacles he has overcome in his life that have shaped him into the best basketball player and the best person he could be. The Mamba shows passion, toughness, and the will to fight no matter what is against him, knowing when you get knocked down that you have to get back up a hundred times harder. All the Laker fans in that crowd chanting “Kobe, Kobe, Kobe.” They all love him and he is the reason people watch basketball and the reason that little boy that lives next door to you tells his mom that “ I want to be like Kobe one day.” Bryant has brought a lot of meaning in this world making people happy. All of these qualities and traits are what a hero really is.

His passion is substantially on another level. The effort he brought on to the court every night from a rookie to his retirement was special. The man stepped on the court not fearing a single person. There was one incident when Matt Barnes who played for the Grizzlies who acted as if he was going to throw the ball in the face of Kobe. “So much that Bryant did not even flinch”(Medina)". He didn’t care who was in front of him, tall or small, he was going to beat you. The crazy thing is they wouldn’t even see it coming. He has that “Mamba” mentality, deadly and fast. When you see it coming at you, you don’t know what to do. That’s how Bryant made people feel coming down the court with the ball in his hand. Bryant would dribble right down the court and hit the buzzer beater right in your face like it was nothing. Fades, stepbacks, sidesteps, Bryant could do it all. He made people watch basketball and be a fan; It’s like something never seen before. However, seeing Bryant get up after being knocked down is magnificent to watch.

Bryant in a life-changing moment MandellWhat people don’t realize that it isn’t about how you’re doing right now but what you do when things get rough. Bryant in his many years has had over 146 injuries. That includes his hands, hip, knee, and his ankle”(Gannett Satellite Network)”. Every injury Bryant went through he’d come back even stronger. He outplayed the whole team. However, the one important injury was when he tore his achilles, which is located in his ankle”(Kelso)”. From this injury Bryant would miss an entire season. He was getting old and planning to retire after the upcoming season before his injury. After averaging over twenty points for the last decade of the regular season and playoffs. Bryant would be on his downfall and that would bring him to his last 2 seasons after this injury.  How could a person get back from that and Bryant showed the world anything is possible. He came back from his injury a year later, averaging seventeen points the whole season. It was a drop from his last averages the past decade of scoring twenty points and greater. However, the end was slowly coming. Bryant has shown how to come back from something by staying positive and training to stay healthy. However, Bryant got smarter and mentally stronger. In his last game, He scored sixty points with his team honoring his contribution to the Lakers 

“(ESPN)”. Bryant in his twenty years in the NBA has shown growth not only as a basketball player but as a person through the obstacles he has faced.

Bryant and O'Neal2004Bryant’s biggest obstacle in his life would be his rape accusations during the 2003-04 season. However, Bryant was innocent; once he got back in practice, Bryant and his teammate O’Neal got into it “(Johnson)”. O’Neal did not support Bryant at all through his trial, at practice, O’Neal would act like Bryant wasn’t coming back. O’Neal stated “the full team is here” even though Bryant wasn’t at training camp, and says he wants to be healthy for his teammates, but doesn’t mention Bryant on that list “(Buerge)”. Bryant and O’Neal would end up separating from each other. Bryant stayed in L.A. while O’Neal went to the heat. The next few years Bryant learned from that and won 3 more championships giving him five. He wasn’t just an on the court man.

Bryant’s passion, toughness, and difficult obstacles that he has been through shaped him into the hero he is today. He overcame them when no one expected him to; get back up when he was knocked down. Bryant always got better, not only as a basketball player and for that his fans to looked up to him. Now, the little boy telling his mom “ I want to be better than Kobe”.