An open letter to Dear Kobe Bryant 💜💛🏀 #MambaMentality

Dear Kobe,

Where do I need to begin to talk about the impact that we had on you…!

You were the embodiment of determination. When you made impossible shots defended by 1, 2, 3, 4, or even 5 defenders guarding you, what you did was teach me that if you are determined enough, no one can stop you. You are much more than a sport

My first heartbreaking news of 2020 is your death…😭💔

I have a habit of constantly dreaming and waking up every once in a while in the night to check out my cell phone & I suddenly saw a message that KOBE & his 13-year-old daughter GIANNA were no more… I thought that either it was a nightmare or a hoax & I went back to sleep… An hour later I woke up to check & around 40 messages were informing me of the same…💔😓

I do hope I’m still having a bad dream, but I know I’m not…

I’ve shouted ‘Kobe’ when I make an improbable shot on the court or throw something in a trashcan that is really far away, or even if I do something that seems impossible because that’s what you do on a regular basis. Make the impossible happen!❤️

More than the five NBA Championships u brought to the Lakers – the only franchise u ever played for with 20 years of service.🔥

More than your MVP award. More than Ur two Olympic gold medals. More than 18 All-Star appearances and countless other individual accolades.

Kobe was a mentality. He was an inspiration. Many players in the world are good, even great. But none of them had the Mamba Mentality to be the first in the gym and to squeeze every last drop of greatness out of themselves.

The shooting guard was a household name and brought in generations of fans with his otherworldly drive and talent. He didn’t just create Lakers fans, he created basketball fans.

Kobe’s determination to win superseded everything else. He wasn’t above taking his opponents. He’d play mind games if it was called for. He had a strong mental game that precious few could touch or invade.

Match that with his freakish athleticism and skill. He was damn near unstoppable in his prime.

Your extraordinary basketball achievements once made some commentators think the unthinkable: that he could even challenge Michael Jordan for the title of the Greatest of All Time (GOAT). In his 20 years of professional basketball, all spent at the Los Angeles Lakers, You won five NBA titles and played in 15 All-Star games. You once scored 81 points in a single game (the second-highest point total for an individual player). He scored 60 in his farewell appearance, at the age of 37, in 2016. And you won two gold medals with Team USA at the Olympics.

Kobe’s star continued to shine even after your professional basketball career ended. U won an Academy Award for Dear Basketball – an animated short film based on the letter he wrote announcing his retirement

To understand the impact Kobe had on the game and on so many people’s lives, you need to go behind the scenes. His work ethic and determination were unparalleled by any other player, except perhaps for the one and only Jordan. Both players had the same trainer, Tim Grover.

But Kobe’s work ethic was apparent even before he became a professional. When he was a high school kid, he would start training at 5 a.m. And as a professional player, he would often start even earlier.

Orange County’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to declare August 24 as Kobe Bryant Day. Bryant wore the numbers 8 and 24 during his NBA career, which is why August 24 was chosen as the date to commemorate Bryant, said Board of Supervisors, Chairwoman Michelle Steel. Bryant, who lived in Newport Beach in Orange County, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others died on January 26, in a tragic helicopter crash. “A treasured member of our Orange County community, Kobe Bryant was the basketball legend that inspired so many young men and women to pursue their dreams and never give up,” Steel said

When he broke his right hand, he carried on training with his left hand at full intensity. He used to train for six hours or more until he made 800 shots. He once played with a broken nose just to test his body’s reaction. And he once stayed on court to shoot two free throws after tearing his Achilles tendon – one of the worst injuries an athlete can sustain.

People always compared you to Michael Jordan. What they conveniently forgot was that while MJ was an athletic freak of nature with a 46-inch vertical. The fact that you are in the same conversation as MJ was incredible, and you went on to outscore him and even get 5 titles along the way. That for me was the Mamba mentality.

I have watched you in your injury-ridden years, hoping against hope that you show us another glimpse of the prime Kobe. Everyone, including me, thought we would never see the old Kobe again.

But then it was the day of your final game. I skipped college to watch your game live that day. And was I glad I did! I knew from the start that the Lakers were going to keep passing the ball to you, which they did. What I didn’t know was what you were going to do with it. I was on my feet the entire game as I watched you make clutch shot after clutch shot. And I couldn’t believe what I was watching. The Lakers were down against a tough Utah Jazz team, and everyone thought it was over. Jersey number 24 was still on the floor. It was prime Mamba, he was back! You scored a series of clutch threes and stole a victory from right under everyone’s noses.

No player has had even a 50-point retiring game before you, and you scored 60!

The myriad stories on social media about how u touched the lives of so many people remind us why we need heroes. Today human potential is often viewed with skepticism. The prevalent view is that aiming too high and being obsessed with success is hubristic and responsible for many social ills, from social alienation to rampant materialism to the destruction of the environment.

When faced with such cynicism, the flame burning inside of us can slowly go out. What heroes can do is reignite that flame. They remind us that we can do better. Their success is an inspiration, but also a challenge. Heroes say to us: ‘If I did all this, you can do it too.’ In fact, the greatest heroes compel us to do it. And when our heroes suddenly pass away, as Kobe did on 26th January 2020, they remind us how precious and important our own lives are.

The best tribute we can pay to heroes like Kobe Bryant is to feel pride in our efforts, to make every day count, and to recognize the potential of all humans to become achievers and history-makers.

I was on the verge of tears when you said ‘Mamba Out’ that day when you left the court to never return to the NBA again. You can well imagine what I am feeling today.

If there was anyone that deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labor in this world, it was Kobe Bryant. He maximized every advantage he had and worked tirelessly to be the best version of himself. In doing so, he leaves behind him a legacy that proves you can achieve the greatest goals if you’re prepared to work harder than anybody else for it.

I loved watching you play and you will always be the GOAT for me. You will always live on in me and millions of people like me around the world. And we will all shout ‘Kobe’ when we see something impossible happening in front of us.

A blog that Robonded me

This is such BS! All the training and sacrifice just flew out the window with one step that I’ve done millions of times! The frustration is unbearable. The anger is rage. Why the hell did this happen ?!? Makes no damn sense. Now I’m supposed to come back from this and be the same player Or better at 35?!? How in the world am I supposed to do that??

I have NO CLUE. Do I have the consistent will to overcome this thing? Maybe I should break out the rocking chair and reminisce on the career that

was. Maybe this is how my book

ends. Maybe Father Time has defeated me…Then again maybe not! It’s 3:30am, my foot feels like dead weight, my head is spinning from the pain meds and I’m wide awake. Forgive my Venting but what’s the purpose of social media if I won’t bring it to you Real No Image?? Feels good to vent, let it out. To feel as if THIS is the WORST thing EVER! Because After ALL the venting, a real perspective sets in. There are far greater issues/challenges in the world then a torn achilles. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find the silver lining and get to work with the same belief, same drive and same conviction as ever.

One day, the beginning of a new career journey will commence. Today is NOT that day.

“If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear”. Ive always loved that quote. Thats “mamba mentality” we don’t quit, we don’t cower, we don’t run. We endure and conquer.

I know it’s a long post but I’m Facebook Venting LOL. Maybe now I can actually get some sleep and be excited for surgery tomorrow. First step of a new challenge.

Guess I will be Coach Vino for the rest of this season. I have faith in my teammates. They will come through.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. Much Love Always.

Mamba Out (Kobe’s blog post in facebook after injury)

You already had immortalized yourself with a legendary basketball 🏀 career

To summit up I’d love to end this letter with the best quotes of Kobe Bryant 💜

“I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.”

I hate that I lived to see the messages informing me of your Death 🥺