Kobe Bryant passes away, it’s time for Lakers Nation to unite eras
By Ronald Agers
Kobe Bryant will be always attached to the numbers 8 and 24. You may want to add 81 to that list!
Sure you may see a high school player here and there get around 80, 90 or 100 points in a game. Usually, it’s in a blowout against a lesser opponent.
This is the NBA. The Lakers weren’t that good at the time. Plus all of the points were needed because the Lakers, at one point in the game, were getting blown out by about 20 points in the 3rd quarter.
If Mamba Mentality was questioned at that time, it all died. There’s not a word to describe how hot Kobe Bryant got in the game. Let’s be clear, the Lakers needed EVERY POINT he got to win.
Enjoy the condensed version of the game where Bryant scored in a manner so amazing that one man in NBA history did it better; Wilt Chamberlain. Remember Shaquille O’Neal was gone so the Raptors basically knew that Kobe was the featured guy (Also read: THE ONLY GUY!) on the team.
The fact that it didn’t matter, put him in mythical proportions. To understand how great a player is, social media is not how it’s done. You can manipulate clips on an editing machine to create false narratives. When former players talk about you, that’s when you get the real story of how it happened.
Former NBA player turned ESPN analyst, Jalen Rose played in the game. Here’s how you know that Kobe Bryant was one of the most respected players, if not feared.
That’s how true ballers do it. Kobe Bryant’s game transcended over all of basketball, not just the NBA. His Mamba Mentality actually transcended to all sports. Lake Show Life did a piece a year ago on how he helps all kinds of athletes. Enjoy the read here.
There’s only one way to end this. Hearts are heavy but we all knew where we were when Kobe Bryant ended his career the Mamba Mentality way.