One of the most remarkable athletes of our time died in the most relatable way imaginable.
It was Sunday morning and Kobe Bryant was going to his daughter’s basketball game.
In that moment he was like any other parent, accompanying their child to something they loved and shared – excited, maybe a little nervous or anxious. There are few better feelings.
But they never made the game, as everyone knows.
And the sports world is left to mourn an original – a competitor and a showman who was cooler than Hollywood and real as a heart attack.
Bryant was image conscious – how many public figures can give themselves their own savage-sounding nickname, make it stick, develop it into a brand and a hashtag and then go out and live up to it?
Not many. But when you break into the best basketball league in the world as an 18-year-old and bow out 20 years later as a five-time champion, 18-time all-star, the fourth all-time leading scorer and possibly the most revered player for generations, you can call yourself whatever you want.
Mamba it is.
Bryant’s on-court legacy is unassailable. He was awesome, and debating how awesome he was is an exercise in splitting hairs that doesn’t seem to matter anymore. Was he the greatest Los Angeles Laker of all time, or was it Magic Johnson? Was Bryant one of the top-five players in NBA history, as so many will argue so passionately, or maybe – as I have argued in the past – somewhere between 10 and 20?
He broke into the league as an athletic colt that could barely be reined in – he was 18 when he shot four air-balls in the fourth quarter and overtime of an elimination game, but was a master technician by the time his career was over.
He was neither shy nor scared. Ever.
Over the years he added layer upon layer of skill and wisdom that, when combined with his six-foot-six frame and world-class athleticism, made him one of the most lethal scorers ever. And he was 12 times all-defence to boot.
He wasn’t perfect. He was stubborn and bordered on selfish at times. His brand of ‘hero ball’ was proven – as analytics become more mainstream – to be an uncertain path to the best basketball outcome.
But no one has ever questioned why Bryant played the way he did: He wanted to win. And more than almost anyone else, he did.
His fellow professionals understood what it took to play at the level he did for as long as he did, and that, combined with his willingness to share his knowledge, made him a walking legend among his peers.
That’s what matters.
But, as the reaction to news of his shocking death in a helicopter crash in the foothills of north of Los Angeles shows, Bryant means more than anything that can be captured by record books or even highlights. Basketball was the just the vehicle for a broader message.
He created a mythology around himself that transcends basketball, or even sports.
Kobe Bryant (Darren Abate/AP)
Consider this excerpt from his best-selling book, Mamba Mentality:
“I liked challenging people and making them uncomfortable. That’s what leads to introspection and that’s what leads to improvement. You could say I dared people to be their best selves.
“That approach never wavered. What I did adjust, though, was how I varied my approach from player to player. I still challenged everyone and made them uncomfortable, I just did it in a way that was tailored to them. To learn what would work and for who, I started doing homework and watched how they behaved. I learned their histories and listened to what their goals were. I learned what made them feel secure and where their greatest doubts lay. Once I understood them, I could help bring the best out of them by touching the right nerve at the right time.”
Bryant’s magic was creating the convincing illusion that things can be willed into existence, that we can control our destiny and that he could create your destiny, too.
It’s an alluring concept, if unreliable. A single-minded focus and the commitment to make any sacrifice required to reach a goal is one of those things that proves itself because few great things have been achieved without going all-in.
The flip side is going all-in doesn’t guarantee great things, and more than a few young NBA players have had to learn that trying to play Bryant’s style with half his talent is a recipe for a short career.
Bryant himself enjoyed some of his most dominant statistical seasons in the years between the championship three-peat he earned when he teamed up with Shaquille O’Neal and the back-to-back titles he won when Pau Gasol was his Lakers co-star. For example, from 2004-05 to 2006-07 Bryant averaged 31.8 points per game – it was in this stretch that he famously dropped 81 on the Toronto Raptors – but the Lakers managed just about 40 wins a season.
And Bryant’s willfulness got him into trouble. He clashed with O’Neal, prematurely undoing one of the most potent partnerships in sports long ahead of its best-before date. He clashed with head coach Phil Jackson early in his career, with Jackson writing in his book Last Season “he couldn’t coach him anymore” – although, they would later reconcile.
Los Angeles Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal talks with Kobe Bryant during their time as teammates in 2002. (Lucy Nicholson/AP)
Off the court, he allegedly forced himself on a 19-year-old hotel employee in Eagle, Colo. He was charged with sexual assault. The charges were eventually dropped and a civil suit was settled out of court, but a negotiated apology letter by Bryant read, in part: “I want to apologize directly to the young woman involved in this incident, I want to apologize to her for my behaviour that night. … Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual I recognize now that she did not believe this encounter between us was consensual. … I now understand how she sincerely feels that she did not consent.”
But as the memories of Colorado faded and Bryant’s on-court accomplishments mounted, it was hard not to see something bigger taking shape than merely a basketball career.
When the NBA All-Star game was in Toronto in 2016 he was the keynote speaker at the annual technology summit. He turned out in a blazer and dark turtleneck, looking every inch a Silicon Valley mogul. It was there he wowed a conference hall full of businessmen and entrepreneurs. The message: He was just getting started.
He had left everything he had on the basketball court. At age 34, and playing his 78th game of the 2012-13 season, Bryant tore his Achilles tendon and then knocked down two free throws to tie a must-win game. Season-ending injuries to his knee and his shoulder followed the next two years and still Bryant refused to leave on anything but his own terms.
At age 37, in 2015-16, Bryant suited up for 66 games and was mostly a shadow of himself, but fans in arenas around the NBA got to celebrate him one last time. And if they didn’t get there in person, he had a documentary crew following him to preserve the moment. In the final game of his career he scored 60 points while taking a career-high 50 shots.
His Hollywood endings were just beginning, and as with his playing days, little was left to chance. His first project was an animated short film, Dear Basketball, an adaptation of the poem of the same title he wrote for the Players’ Tribune announcing his retirement. Bryant teamed with legendary Disney artist Glen Keane and John Williams, an Academy Award-winning composer. Not surprisingly the Hollywood rookie won an Oscar.
Kobe Bryant, winner of the award for best animated short for “Dear Basketball”, poses in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
As his two older daughters got old enough to pick up sports (his younger girls are three years old and seven months, respectively) Bryant became the doting, if outsized, sports dad. His older daughter, Natalia, played volleyball and Bryant would attend her tournaments, security in tow, trying to keep a low profile as scores of teenaged girls and their parents would casually wander over to confirm for themselves: ‘Yep, that’s Kobe Bryant.’
His younger daughter Gianna chose basketball and Bryant founded and coached a travel team – Team Mamba.
And while any parent who has had kids in competitive sports has at times wished they could make it better, most limit themselves to volunteering. Bryant, however, had the resources to actually do something about it.
Just over a year ago he announced the opening of the Mamba Sports Academy, a 100,000 square-foot facility with five basketball courts, five volleyball courts, a soccer field and the rest.
“MAMBA Sports Academy is a natural expansion of my commitment to educating and empowering the next generation of kids through sports,” a press release about Bryant’s academy read.
This weekend, there was a big tournament, the Mamba Cup.
As the father of four daughters, Bryant made a point of recognizing female athletes, becoming a regular at WNBA games, supporting the NCAA Women’s tournament and expressing his support and admiration for U.S. Women’s soccer.
His creative energies centred around sports and youth. Be it his Wizenard reading series – kind of a Harry Potter for hoops – or his podcast, The Punies, or other film and TV projects.
As Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, said, Bryant was “just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act.”
We won’t get to see it.
Kobe Bryant. (Jae C. Hong/AP)
Bryant, 41, defied real-life parallels in almost every way. His own self-belief, combined with his talent and presence, gave him a superhero-type vibe, with ‘Black Mamba’ as his alter ego.
It wasn’t crazy. Even among the genetic rarities that populate the NBA, the six-foot-six Bryant stood out. He was faster, stronger and quicker than most, but was still willing to work harder than the most desperate journeyman. On the floor he was a gifted try-hard. Off the court he could glide with presidents and slide into perfect Italian. He overcame adversity – some self-made – and came out stronger.
For all that, he was a star. Forever incandescent.
But in his final moments, he was like so many of us: A father, looking forward to a day with his daughter and her friends, and undoubtedly hoping to get home to enjoy a Sunday evening with his wife and three other girls.
In the end, Mamba was mortal. And the sports world will struggle to make sense of that.
MONTREAL – On a night when New York’s top line was missing in action, the bit players grabbed the spotlight and led the Rangers to a commanding 7-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
“That’s the kind of team we have,” said Filip Chytil, who led the Rangers with a pair of power-play goals Tuesday. “The guys on the top line had chances but when they don’t score we have three other lines to pick up the slack.”
The Rangers’ dominance was reflected in the amount of time they spent in the Canadiens zone and their 45-23 edge in shots.
“If you’ve watched us practice, you know that’s something we work on all the time,” said Chytil. “When we get the puck, we want to hold on to it.”
The Rangers grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals by Mika Zibanejad at the 56-second mark and Jonny Brodzinski at 2:05, but it was Montreal which pressed the play in the first minute.
“I thought we had a good start but they turned it around on us,” said Montreal coach Martin St. Louis.
Lane Hutson controlled the puck off the opening faceoff and had two early shots, both of which were blocked by New York’s Jacob Trouba.
“That was huge for us,” said Rangers coach Peter Laviolette. “We know (Trouba) can generate offence but he can come up with those big defensive plays.”
Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault exited at 11:05 of the first period after giving up four goals on 10 shots. Zibanejad, Brodzinski, Chytil and Reilly Smith all scored on the Habs’ starter.
His replacement, Cayden Primeau, stopped 33 of 35 shots, giving up goals to Braden Schneider, Kaapo Kakko and Chytil.
Nick Suzuki scored both of the Montreal goals, his first strikes of the season
“It didn’t really feel like a 7-2 game until the end there when you look up at the scoreboard,” Suzuki said. “But we obviously keep digging ourselves these holes, and against a good team like that, our details early on have to be really sharp. And we were definitely a little sleepy coming out and they jumped on us.”
Hutson led the Canadiens in ice time with 24:10 but this wasn’t one of his better games. Smith scored on a breakaway after taking the puck off Hutson’s stick and the rookie was minus-4 for the night.
After Tuesday’s morning practice, the Canadiens announced forward Juraj Slafkovsky will miss at least a week with an upper-body injury. Defenceman Kaiden Guhle missed a second consecutive game with an upper-body injury but the team said it isn’t a long-term ailment.
The injury situation didn’t get any better after Trouba flattened Justin Barron at 7:11 of the third period. Barron didn’t return to the ice but there was no immediate word on his condition.
The Rangers welcomed back defenceman Ryan Lindgren, who made his season debut after missing five games with a jaw injury.
Before the game, 14 players from the Canadiens’ team that won four consecutive Stanley Cups between 1976 and 1979 were introduced at the Bell Centre. Among them were Hockey Hall of Fame members Yvan Cournoyer, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe, Bob Gainey and Ken Dryden.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball has sold at auction for nearly $4.4 million, a record high price not just for a baseball, but for any ball in any sport, the auctioneer said Wednesday.
“We received bids from around the world, a testament to the significance of this iconic collectible and Ohtani’s impact on sports, and I’m thrilled for the winning bidder,” Ken Goldin, the founder and CEO of auctioneer Goldin Auctions said in a statement.
The auction opened on Sept. 27 with a starting bid of $500,000 and closed just after midnight on Wednesday. The auctioneer said it could not disclose any information about the winning bidder.
The auction has been overshadowed by the litigation over ownership of the ball. Christian Zacek walked out of Miami’s LoanDepot Park with the ball after gaining possession in the left-field stands. Max Matus and Joseph Davidov each claim in separate lawsuits that they grabbed the ball first.
All the parties involved in the litigation agreed that the auction should continue.
Matus’ lawsuit claims that the Florida resident — who was celebrating his 18th birthday — gained possession of the Ohtani ball before Zacek took it away. Davidov claims in his suit that he was able to “firmly and completely grab the ball in his left hand while it was on the ground, successfully obtaining possession of the 50/50 ball.”
Ohtani and the Dodgers are preparing for Game 1 of the World Series scheduled for Friday night.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James gave his 20-year-old son a pep talk before they rose from the Lakers bench. Amid rising cheers, they walked together to the scorer’s table — and then they stepped straight into basketball history.
LeBron and Bronny became the first father and son to play in the NBA together Tuesday night during the Los Angeles Lakers ‘ season opener, fulfilling a dream set out a few years ago by LeBron, the top scorer in league history.
“That moment, us being at the scorer’s table together and checking in together, it’s a moment I’m never going to forget,” LeBron said. “No matter how old I get, no matter how my memory may fade as I get older or whatever, I will never forget that moment.”
Father and son checked into the game against Minnesota simultaneously with four minutes left in the second quarter, prompting a big ovation from a home crowd aware of the enormity of the milestone. The 39-year-old LeBron had already started the game and played 13 minutes before he teamed up with his 20-year-old son for about 2 1/2 minutes of action.
LeBron James is one of the greatest players in NBA history, a four-time champion and 20-time All-Star, while LeBron James Jr. was a second-round pick by the Lakers last summer. They are the first father and son to play in the world’s top basketball league at the same time, let alone on the same team.
“Y’all ready? You see the intensity, right? Just play carefree, though,” father told son on the bench before they checked in, an exchange captured by the TNT cameras and microphones. “Don’t worry about mistakes. Just go out and play hard.”
Their time on court together was fast and furious, just as LeBron promised.
LeBron, who finished the night with 16 points, missed two perimeter shots before making a dunk. Bronny had an early offensive rebound and missed a tip-in, and his first NBA jump shot moments later was a 3-pointer that came up just short. He checked out one possession later with 1:19 left in the second quarter, getting another ovation.
“(I) tried not to focus on everything that’s going on around me, and tried to focus on going in as a rookie and not trying to mess up,” Bronny said. “But yeah, I totally did feel the energy, and I appreciate Laker Nation for showing the support for me and my dad.”
After the final whistle on the Lakers’ first opening-night victory in LeBron’s seven seasons with the team, father and son also headed to the locker room together — but not before stopping in the tunnel to hug Savannah James, LeBron’s wife and Bronny’s mother. The entire family was in attendance to watch history — on little sister Zhuri’s 10th birthday, no less.
Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. also were courtside at the Lakers’ downtown arena to witness the same history they made in Major League Baseball. The two sluggers played 51 games together for the Seattle Mariners in 1990 and 1991 as baseball’s first father-son duo.
LeBron first spoke about his dream to play alongside Bronny a few years ago, while his oldest son was still in high school. The dream became real after Bronny entered the draft as a teenager following one collegiate season, and the Lakers grabbed him with the 55th overall pick.
“I talked about it years and years ago, and for this moment to come, it’s pretty cool,” LeBron said. “I don’t know if it’s going to actually hit the both of us for a little minute, but when we really get to sit back and take it in, it’s pretty crazy. … But in the moment, we still had a job to do when we checked in. We wasn’t trying to make it a circus. We wasn’t trying to make it about us. We wanted to make it about the team.”
LeBron and Bronny joined a small club of father-son professional athletes who played together. The Griffeys made history 34 years ago, and they even homered in the same game on Sept. 14, 1990.
Baseball Hall of Famer Tim Raines and his namesake son also accomplished the feat with the Baltimore Orioles in 2001.
In hockey, Gordie Howe played alongside his two sons, Mark and Marty, with the WHA’s Houston Aeros and Team Canada before one NHL season together on the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80, when Gordie was 51.
While the other family pairings on this list happened late in the fathers’ careers, LeBron shows no signs of slowing down or regressing as he begins his NBA record-tying 22nd season.
LeBron averaged more than 25 points per game last year for his 20th consecutive season, and he remains the most important player on the Lakers alongside Anthony Davis as they attempt to recapture the form that won a championship in 2020 and got them to the Western Conference finals in 2023.
Bronny survived cardiac arrest and open heart surgery in the summer of 2023, and he went on to play a truncated freshman season at the University of Southern California. He declared for the draft anyway, and the Lakers eagerly used the fourth-to-last pick in the draft on the 6-foot-2 guard.
LeBron spent the summer in Europe with the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the Paris Olympics, while Bronny played for the Lakers in summer league. They started practicing together with the Lakers before training camp.
The duo first played together in the preseason, logging four minutes during a game against Phoenix just outside Palm Springs earlier this month.
“It’s been a treat,” LeBron said at Tuesday’s morning shootaround. “In preseason, the practices, just every day … bringing him up to speed of what this professional life is all about, and how to prepare every day as a professional.”
The Lakers were fully aware of the history they would make with this pairing, and coach JJ Redick spoke with the Jameses recently about a plan to make it happen early in the regular season.
The presence of the Griffeys likely made it an inevitability for opening night, even though Redick said the Lakers still wanted it “to happen naturally, in the flow of the game.”
The Lakers have declined to speculate on how long Bronny will stay on their NBA roster. Los Angeles already has three other small guards on its roster, and Bronny likely needs regular playing time to raise his game to a consistent NBA standard.
Those factors add up to indicate Bronny is likely to join the affiliate South Bay Lakers of the G League at some point soon. LeBron and Redick have both spoken positively about the South Bay team, saying that player development is a key part of the Lakers organization.
Miami forward Kevin Love, who knew all the James children — Bronny, Bryce and Zhuri — from his time as LeBron’s teammate in Cleveland, said it was “an unbelievable moment” to see father and son playing together.
“I grew up a Mariners fan, so I got to see Griffey and then Griffey Sr. But this is different, because LeBron is still a top-five player in the league,” Love said. “This game, man. It’s why we have that ($76 billion) TV deal. The storylines and the things that happen like this, it’s an unbelievable story. This is really cool to see.”
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AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed.
