Remembering Kobe Bryant, The NBA Legend, Father, Husband, and Hero

With the tragic news of the sudden passing of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, we take a look back on some of the highlights of his career.

Spending his entire NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 until his retirement in 2016, one of Bryant’s biggest career highlights was scoring a career-high of 81 points in a single game, against the Toronto Raptors.

Throughout his career, Bryant won five championships, became an 18-time All-Star & two-time Finals MVP; scored 63 points in three quarters in a single game; had four games in a row where he scored 50+ points, managed to finish playing against the Golden State Warriors after tearing his Achilles and scoring two free throws to help lead the Lakers to a 118-116 victory finishing with 34 points. And on Saturday, he moved down the list to number four for the most points scored of all time.

Bryant would go on to retire in 2016, scoring 60 points in his last game. Following his final game, Kobe gave a final farewell speech, closing it out with “Mamba out,” with a mic drop to follow.

Bryant was also as amazing off the court as he was on the court as he’d been helping grant wishes for the Make-A-Wish foundation since 2000, granting over 250 wishes across the world. Bryant was also the official ambassador for After-School All-Stars to help provide after-school programs to children in different cities throughout the US. If that wasn’t enough, Bryant was also a founder of the Kobe Bryant China Fund, which helped raise money for education and health programs.

While the list could go on & on forever, we remember Kobe as a hero, legend, and role model. Moving forward, we remember Bryant’s “Mamba mentality” mantra, which he described as constantly trying to be the best version of yourself.

Kobe Bryant went down in history as the greatest to ever play in the NBA, and we will forever remember him and his daughter Gianna Bryant, who also passed away by his side.

Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Bryant family, the families of the other passengers on the helicopter and everyone mourning the lives lost in this devastating tragedy.