Monday, November 25, 2024
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Dear Mamba

sportstimesanddimes

Dear Mamba

Inspirational. Winner. The Ultimate Competitor. Relentless.

Last Sunday, all of us broke down upon hearing the news of his passing, as well as his daughter Gigi and 7 other passengers in the helicopter. Everyone was in disbelief. How could the invincible Kobe Bryant die? Everything seemed all but real. I tried to deny it, but soon came to realize it was true. I want to tell you all a story, a story of greatness. One unparalleled to any other you’ve heard before. A story of love, passions and the pursuit of being the best. That’s what Bean exemplified the best. The words above describe him just simple terms. To us fans, he meant so much more. So much much more. He captured all of our hearts like no other player ever did or will. Words can’t explain what he meant to us. It’s time to give Kobe Bean Bryant the thanks he deserves, for everything he had done and for being apart of our own journeys toward success

Dear Kobe,

 The way you drove in the lane
Dribblin’ left and right having me insane
The true star player who never complainThe one who worked so hard, I can’t even explain
Immortalized through the spirit of the gains
All the sacrifices and pain to add to your game
If there is anything to take away
It’s the focus you put in night and day
 
The moves you displayed wasn’t for show
Instead your ways h
elped us to learn and grow
From you, I learned to out work the rest
From you, I learned what it means to be the best
Kobe, Thank you for it all
I truly mean it
Thank you for everything
.
 
From day one, the something about the mamba mentality just stuck to all of us. Kobe, man, you gave me a new outlook on life, in which I can truly say I see my passion an
d desires laid out in front on me. Your historical moments were beyond belief, even if I was too young to witness many of them. Something is just different when I look at you. The fire in your heart is beyond compare, and there 
will never be a heir to what you have done for people like me. It’s hard for me to write this, knowing you are gone forever, but I must put it into word. No other player ever could have the work ethic you do. Some people get called “gym rat,” b
ut you are so much more than just that. I like to think of it as a gym warrior. The fierceness you played night in and out, you aimed to give all of your opponents zero breathing 
room. For all reading, let’s look back at the NBA Finals where Kobe tore his achilles. While it was certainly a had time, the Mamba played 45+ minutes in every single game that series. You cannot say the same abo
ut any other player, trust me. Not Michael, nor Bron, nor Hakeem, nor Curry – no one. How about when he scored 81? The second highest total in NBA history. The closest since has been Devin Booker’s 70,

 but even that is a rare sight to see. I personally believe no one will eclipse what he got for a long time. In this game, Kobe had an offensive rating of 15. That’s just amazing. Imagine adjusting the game to today’s PACE. You would see how good he truly is in comparison to players like Harden.

Kobe is a different breed in every aspect, but the one where you see his ability to really come out is his competitiveness, especially against his rivals. Stars like TMac, and Duncan, all the way to LeBron at some points all were tough for Kobe to match. Many times he got exposed but he studied the game hard and long and looked for ways to stop them. One of my favorite Kobe moments was when he faced arguably his biggest rival in AI. In March of the 98-99 season, Iverson had a historic game. He dropped 41 on Kobe while shooting 47% and dishing out 10 assists. It does not help that in the same game Kobe had 5 turnovers. Understandably, this did not sit well with Kobe. Coaches and teammates say he studied Iverson’s game nonstop and looked at every way he could be stopped all the time, 24/7. In their next meeting, Iverson had just 16, shooting 7 for 25 overall, and went 0 for 11 in the second half. Needless to say the clamps were brought, and ultimately the Lakers won that game. He would then continue to dominate the NBA.

 

The greatness that comes with even uttering his name under your breath is awe-inspiring. It’ll be hard to view anyone else the way I view Kobe. 

“I would go 0-for-30 [from the floor] before I would go 0-for-9. [An] 0-for-9 means you beat yourself, you psyched yourself out of the game. … The only reason is because you’ve just now lost confidence in yourself.” – Kobe Bryant

Rest in peace to the coldest killa in NBA history. 


Thank you,

Milan Varia – @sportstimesanddimes on instagram.