On the 26th of January of the most shocking and debilitating news came out, Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna (more affectionately known as Gigi) were among the 9 victims of a Helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
Kobe, alongside his daughter and other members of her basketball team were flying to the Mamba Sports Academy to participate in a basketball game before the helicopter crashed early yesterday morning.
The news was devastating but numbing and across the globe we see tributes to not only the Lakers icon but to the young life and aspiring young athlete Gigi.
Kobe Bryant inspired and motivated people across the globe not only just basketball players, but anyone who was willing to accept his ‘Mamba Mentality.’ Which is a phrase symbolising his ruthless work ethic and meticulous study of basketball and players.
“You might of also thought you knew my cadence and rhythm, expect – I didn’t have one. I made a point to adjust the pace of my attack to throw defenders off.”
“I was constantly scouting teammates and opponents. I would learn how physically complete their game was, how perseverance they were, and identify weaknesses right there and then, I would file that away until we eventually played against each other”
Taken from Kobe’s book ‘The Mamba Mentality’ pg 197
Or tweets like these (Giannis Antetkoumpo went on to win the 2018/2019 MVP Award)
The passion Kobe showed and had for the game is being mourned by the NBL, on the other side of the planet the NBL will play a 24-second video tribute for Kobe and Gigi. 24 seconds is in reference to Kobe’s playing number in the latter half of his career. This will begin and continue through Round 18 starting with Melbourne United hosting the Perth Wildcats at 7:30pm AEDT.
The round is set to be the inaugural indigenous round and this sudden passing of Kobe and Gigi will add to the spectacle and allow Australian, Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islander and New Zealand with Indigenous New Zealand basketball fans to mourn among peers in our basketball league.
“Kobe Bryant was hugely popular around the world and nowhere more so than in Australia and New Zealand. We think this is a fitting way for the NBL to pay tribute to one of the legends of the game and his daughter Gianna and celebrate their contribution to basketball.” said NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger via public statement.