By Christopher Odivilas
The first time I opened my eyes for basketball, there was a man named Kobe Bryant. For me, he was a typical shooting guard. I was not a fan of him simply because I see Kobe as a one-dimensional player. In terms of shot creating, I believe Tracy McGrady had an edge. I saw Kobe as a shadow of Shaquille O’Neal in their team. He was just the Robin and Shaq was the Batman. Kobe was just a side kick.
And it’s true you’ll find negative things about the man that you don’t appreciate to make the one you appreciate better. Kobe is more than a scorer. Kobe is more than a side kick. Kobe was not the Robin or even the Batman. Kobe is a vicious killer. Yes, I’ve seen a player like Kobe in MJ but Kobe is still Kobe. You can see the fire in his eyes every night.
We love his moves. Turnaround J’s, pull-ups, backstep, sidestep. It seems easy for Kobe to do those things but all of us don’t know how much blood and sweat he had to sacrifice in order to make those shots every night. It’s true he gave his heart for the game we love the most. Most of us judged him for being a ballhog but you’ll never understand Kobe if you’re not a competitor. He believed he can make those shots simply because he made the same shots a million times even before the game started. He just wanted to win.
A lot of new bodies came into the league. There’s LeBron. There’s Durant. And now there’s Curry. The old ones were in their prime. Nash, Nowitzki, Duncan… too many to mention. All of these bodies, yet Kobe still remains one of the best. Consecutive 50-pt games, 81-pt game, 12 3-pointers and records. Kobe fought with all of he is and with all of his strength. Yet, he still receives all the hate simply because most of us saw the negative sides of Kobe Bryant.
Kobe Bryant was wounded all throughout the 20 years of his career. I cannot imagine a player shooting with a broken finger, what more with a torn achilles. If that’s not competitive for you, I think you need to think twice. Kobe was tired physically, emotionally, & mentally and you can see it in him every game but he never quit until up to now, where his career will be all over soon.
You’ll appreciate great things only when they’re gone and when it’s too late. Kobe was not a one-dimensional player. He’s a great defender all throughout of his career. Now, I understand why most of us Filipinos loved Kobe Bryant. He’s a fighter like most of us, even if life gets hard. He never gave up. Kobe’s work ethic was very similar with every Filipino’s work ethic and with the same reason, for the ones we love. Lastly, the heart of a champion. We had the same heart as Kobe’s and that will never ever change.
As your career is over, thank you for sharing your journey with us. Thank you for being a huge part of our generation. Thank you for inspiring us to love the game of basketball. Basketball will never be the same without #8, without #24, without Kobe Bryant.
Thank you & farewell Kobe!