It can’t be, it just can’t be, but sadly it is. On the morning of January 26th, 2020, a Sikorsky, S- 76B helicopter carrying former NBA star Kobe Bryant, his thirteen-year-old daughter, Gianna and seven other passengers plunged into a mountain in Calabasas, killing all on 9 board. The basketball star’s unforeseen death sent the NBA and the world into a sense of shock and despair. Wyatt Nelson ‘20 was distraught over the tragedy saying “It was the first celebrity’s death that hit me this hard”. 

      For over twenty years, Kobe was at the pinnacle of sports in the city that ruled the world, Los Angeles, and just like that, he is gone. From the time he was drafted into the NBA as a wide-eyed seventeen-year-old out of Lower Merion High School, Kobe Bryant was already a household name in American basketball. Despite his young age, Bryant quickly became a fan favorite by helping lead the Lakers to a three-peat in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Bryant went on to win two more championships in his prestigious career.

     During his time with the LA Lakers, Kobe scored a staggering 33 thousand points, which placed him third overall, until Lebron James passed him the night before his untimely death. Bryant’s other achievements include winning NBA MVP in 2008 and making eighteen all-star games, to name a few. But for Kobe, his biggest accomplishments were far from the glitz and glamor of Figueroa Street and the Staples Center.

     For Kobe, his life’s achievements were his family; most notably, his four daughters, Natalia, Gianna, Bianka, and Capri. After his retirement from basketball, Kobe spent countless hours with his children. In an interview with Barstool, Bryant said that he loved nothing more than to able to pick up his kids each and every day from school just to spend some extra time with them. When asked why he did this, Bryant referenced the fact that “road trips can make it really hard to see your kids.” However, the traffic in Los Angeles ranks as some of the worst in all of the world, and Kobe was constantly late getting around the city, hence why he started taking helicopters everywhere. Kobe would often take his daughter to her games, and on the morning of January 26th, the unforeseeable happened.

     Last week, the world lost one of its greatest NBA players of all time. However, Kobe was so much more than that; he was a son, a father, a husband, and an inspiration to us all. Farewell Kobe, your legacy will live on forever.