“Greatness Personified” – Kobe Bryant

Sometime between 2009-2011 a Kobe Bryant highlight video circled around the internet. Nowadays you can find many remakes, copycat videos, with the same title, “Greatness Personified”. That’s exactly what Kobe was, truly great in all senses of the word. Only now, writing this, do I understand how strange it is to say “was” and not “is”.

The basketball and greater sports world came to a harrowing halt on January 26th, 2020. What feels like so long ago, before COVID-19, NBA games were cancelled and players were sitting out in mourning of Kobe Bryant’s passing. Bryant was killed, along with his 13 year old daughter, Gianna (Gigi), in a devastating helicopter crash just north of L.A. in Calabasas, California. Among the Bryant’s, 7 others were killed, including Orange County Coast’s head baseball coach, John Altobelli.

Bryant (right) pictured with his daughter Gianna (Gigi) at a WNBA game.
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Kobe Bryant was the epitome of success in the NBA. Champion, MVP, Finals MVP, All-Star, First Team All-NBA, First Team All-Defense, Scoring Champ, Dunk Contest Champ; These are all accolades most players would dream of achieving, with very few capable of all of them in a single career. Kobe often described himself as a “student of the game.” He loved to win, but more than anything, he loved the hard work and sacrifice that it took to earn those victories. There are incredibly hard workers everywhere, but there has never been a player in NBA history who has loved working for his success more than Kobe Bryant. The love and appreciation of blood, sweat, and tears, was what made Kobe truly unique. It was much more than his signature fade-away, his classic dunks, or his line of Nike’s. It was his persona, his drive, and his focus that set him apart.

Kobe Bryant will go down in history as one of the most clutch players of all time. In recent years, that has become somewhat of a controversial statement. He obviously passes the “eye test”, but, on shots to take the lead within the final 24 seconds of a game, Kobe Bryant is a career 31.3% shooter. However, advanced statistics show a deeper story. The NBA defines “crunch time” as the final five minutes of the fourth quarter, so any statistics recorded in that time frame are considered to be “clutch statistics”. Throughout his prime (2001-2010) Kobe Bryant led the league or was close to the top in fourth quarter points-per-game, as well as TS% (True Shooting Percentage). This is not to mention that Kobe Bryant is top-ten all-time in playoff points-per-game. Kobe Bryant was not only a prolific scorer (both overall and in the fourth quarter), but he also was one of the best defenders in the league, often seen in crunch time. Even at a 31.3% clip, Kobe Bryant has hit more game winning field goals than any player in NBA history. Kobe Bryant was fearless in the most critical moments of the game, putting fear into his opponents, knowing he was capable of shooting and making any shot, from any spot, anytime. Although that percentage seems low, consider that it was Kobe’s clutch play that kept his team in games, allowing him to have “clutch opportunities”. Imagine sinking the most game winning shots in NBA history, when everyone in the entire arena knows exactly who is going to take the shot, and some have even schemed for it. If that’s not clutch, I don’t know what is.

By some, Kobe was seen to be “too intense”, “too harsh”. There have been famous stories of his rift with Shaquille O’Neal, or his “bullying” of “soft” Dwight Howard. This angered some people, but made Kobe fans love him more. His fans loved his personality, seemingly throwing away those who were not willing to work as hard as him, or were not as tough as him.

Kobe Bryant celebrates his fourth championship, defeating the Orlando Magic in 2009.
(Photo by Robert Gauthier/LA Times)

Kobe relished in adversity. After Shaquille O’Neal left the Lakers in 2006 to join Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat, Kobe was faced with many doubters, questioning if he could win without Shaq. These few years were tough on him, as he even publicly demanded a trade in 2007. However, Bryant was quickly back to his winning ways, winning back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010 with a new cast of characters including, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, and Lamar Odom.

I recently ran a poll on Instagram, asking peers, colleagues, and more what their favorite Kobe moment was. Surprisingly, yet unsurprisingly, it wasn’t the three-peat, or the scoring title. It wasn’t title redemption in 2009 or 60 points in his famous goodbye. It was an infamous moment on April 13th, 2013. On this date, Kobe Bryant suffered an injury that marked the beginning of the end of his illustrious career. Kobe had played his last playoff game and struggled to stay on the court for his remaining few years after tearing his Achilles in the fourth quarter of a regular season game against the Warriors. Ironically, Kobe had hurt himself already, injuring his knee in both the second and third quarters of the game. His body was ailing all the way through the devastating injury. The moment that most people chose as their favorite, and his most iconic, was when a grimacing, battered Kobe Bryant staggered to the free throw line to sink two game-tying free throws and then marched off the court, by his own power, with his head up.

Kobe shooting game-tying free throws against the Warriors, before walking off the court on a torn right Achilles.
(Photo by Noah Graharn/Getty Images)

This moment epitomized the aura of Kobe Bryant. The mental and physical toughness that, for some, would have sent them off the court in a stretcher. Clutch. Tough. Incredible. Legendary. Whatever superlative you want to use to describe Kobe is applicable. It’s what will leave a lasting memory of “Greatness Personified” in our minds and hearts, forever. So next time you go to throw something out, make sure to kick your legs out, put your hands high above your head, and scream “KOBE!” before sinking your shot.