By Caleb Staneck









Kobe Bryant (talkbasket.net)





The NBA Hall of Fame just recently released who has been inducted into the 2020 Hall of Fame. This class has been considered one of the best Hall of Fame classes ever. Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and of course Kobe Bryant headline this star-studded class. First, I would like to congratulate everyone who has been inducted but this article is about one man and this whole class is about one man. Kobe Bean Bryant.





Kobe Bryant was just a 17-year-old kid from Philadelphia when drafted into the NBA. Kobe dominated high school where he attended Lower Merion. Kobe's first 5 games were arguably the worst games he ever played. He scored 0,1,5,10 and 2 in those first 5 games. In his rookie season, he managed to score 20+ only four times. This did not stop Kobe from becoming one of the greats and quite possibly the most impactful basketball player for this current generation.





Kobe had an impact on the court like no other. He played with a chip on his shoulder and unless you were on his team he did not like you. He adopted Michael Jordans’ trash-talking abilities. Even those on his team had a tendency to resent Kobe because of how intense he was in practice. Kobe gave 110% every time he took the floor, it did not matter if it was pickup, practice or game 7 of the NBA finals. He was going to be intense and in your face and if you were guarding him that night, good luck.





Kobe ended up with 33,643 points in his career, where he sits at 4th all time. He had 25 50- point games, including 62 in 3 quarters in 2005, where after he deemed himself the “Black Mamba”. We all also remember the 81 point game against the raptors, I know Jalen Rose does. Finally, in his last game ever Kobe finished with 60 points because what else would the Black Mamba have done? There is no secret Kobe was one of the best players to ever play this game, however, his impact goes deeper than that.





Kobe upon retiring brought a lasting impact amongst the players of today and the players of the future. As a kid in the cafeteria shooting a bottle into the garbage can I would yell, “Kobe” just as many people across the world would do. He mentored players of today like Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Trae Young, and Jayson Tatum. The list goes on. Kobe also had an impact on those in different sports. Upon his death, players from other sports posted pictures and shared stories of Kobe in remembrance of him. Everyone knew the “Mamba Mentality”, across all of sports and even in the business world.





Finally, what many came to know him as in his final years here on Earth was that he was a family man and a dad, specifically a girl dad. I remember hearing a story from a news anchor on Sportscenter, she said she met Kobe in LA while she was pregnant and he ran up to her saying “What is it a boy or a girl?” The news anchor said she was having a girl. Kobe smiled from ear to ear and said how much he loves being a girl dad. This was Kobe, always a girl dad up until his last moments in life with his precious daughter Gigi.





Kobe had an impact past basketball that not many athletes or celebrities will have. Kobe Bryant brought the whole world together. Courts were designed with his face on them, along with his daughter Gigi, players wearing his shoes, and writing his initials on their shoes. Wearing his jersey, playing the shot clock out at 24 on opening possessions. So whenever we get back to normal life and the hall will induct those into the Hall of Fame, as Kobe gets his name called, sit there and think for a minute the impact he may have had on your life. Mamba Mentality lives on forever.





RIP Kobe Bean Bryant.











