Nate Edelman – Staff Writer
Kobe Bryant has been around for my entire life. Literally. I was born in July, 1996. Kobe was drafted a month earlier. He matured in the NBA at the same time I matured into the young adult I am today.
I have been a die-hard Lakers fan since day one and one of the earliest memories of my childhood is running and cheering around my house when Robert Horry hit the game-winning three-pointer against the Trail Blazers. As a young kid, I was mesmerized by the early 2000s Lakers; they were perfect in my eyes. And at the heart of the team was the duo of Kobe and Shaq.
I loved them together as equals; they were unstoppable. When Shaq was traded when I was eight years old, I was hurt and confused, but my love for Kobe only grew stronger since that day. Around that time, I was finally in the right physique to start playing basketball competitively and I would make sure I always shout “Kobe!” before I would shoot any big shot. I still shout it today.
I am still jealous of my cousin to this day as he got to see Kobe’s 81-point game. He always brags about it to this day.
I remember sitting in my dad’s Toyota 4-Runner listening to the innumerable Lakers vs Suns playoff series, because that series seemed to have happened every year. Those series felt like they were one vs five at times—Kobe versus the world. How did the Lakers even make the playoffs back then? Those teams had Chris Mihm, Smush Parker, and Kwame Brown! That team is honestly not that much better than the current Lakers, except the Lakers 10 years ago had Kobe in his prime.
I remember cheering, screaming, and cursing (because cursing was fun for a middle school boy) during the Lakers’ deep playoff runs from 2008-10. The Lakers, of course, would not have won without Kobe’s consistent play on both sides of the ball.
I remember sneaking in my phone to my middle school’s graduation to check on the score of Game 6 of the Lakers vs Celtics Finals. I don’t remember anything about my graduation except that the Lakers won by 22. Kobe led the way with 26 points.
When Kobe tore his Achilles, he wept. Lakers fans across the world cried, too, including myself. I will always admire the fact that Kobe wanted to go out on his own terms and not have a career-ending injury end his career.
As Kobe’s time in the NBA comes to a close, I finally have to say goodbye to a childhood hero. I have never experienced a Lakers team without Kobe, so this is new territory for me. And I’m honestly not prepared. I don’t know if I will ever cheer for a player as great as Kobe Bryant.
I will always be very grateful that Kobe Bryant dedicated 20 years to my favorite team, the Los Angeles Lakers. I can proudly say that Kobe is a big reason why basketball is my favorite sport.
Thank you, Kobe.
Next: Tony Yassa, Staff Writer