Anniversaries, both the good and the tragic, are always emotionally intense times, and that first-year milestone is typically the most intense of all. It is the first time that date has come round again and the feelings and memories from 12 months prior come rushing back to the surface.
So, it was on January 26, 2021 when the world marked one year since the tragic passing of Los Angeles Lakers basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his teenage daughter Gianna, six other passengers and the pilot in a helicopter crash.
In the days and weeks following the fatal accident, millions of people across the globe mourned the death of a much-loved and hugely popular sports and cultural icon. The fact his 13-year-old daughter also perished only intensified the shock and pain. Thousands turned out across Los Angeles, the U.S. and indeed the world to pay their respects; landmarks were covered in purple and gold and ‘Bryant 24’; athletes, celebrities, and world leaders donned the famous Lakers jersey in a show of appreciation for a man who made an immeasurable contribution to the world of sports.
But then, naturally, life moved on. Not that Kobe, Gianna, and the seven others were forgotten, but that’s just what happens, particularly in a year like the one just gone – one dominated by an unprecedented global health crisis and rising social and political tensions.
Gone but not forgotten
The first-year anniversary was therefore a chance to pause, to hold the Bryant family in our collective thoughts and to commemorate the victims of a truly terrible accident. It also served to highlight that while time is the only remedy to such heartbreaking loss, Bryant’s death still cuts deep more than 12 months on.
Tyronn Lue spent his first three NBA seasons as Bryant’s teammate at the Lakers and the pair were close friends thereafter. Lue recently admitted that he is still struggling to cope, and many people will share the Clippers’ coach’s sentiment.
“I don't really deal with death well,” Lue said days before the one-year anniversary. “I always try to forget about it. It is just something that is tough for me, especially [with] someone I was so close to... I took down all the pictures in my room, in my house, I don't have them in my office.”
“I am going to just try to do it,” Lue added. “He is always going to live through me, through the NBA, through a lot of people. So just try to come to my office and seeing a picture of me and Kobe I think would be tough.”
“But there's got to be a point where I got to get through that, continue to celebrate his life and what he has meant to me and so many other people.”
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Mamba Mentality inspires millions
And Kobe really did mean so much to so many people. Of course, there were his generational athletic talents and the joy his basketball success gave to millions of Lakers fans – he was, indisputably, one of the greatest basketball players ever to grace the court. But Bryant’s legacy extends far beyond his sporting credentials.
He was a global superstar in every sense of the word. He amassed a fortune of approximately $600m – not far off the biggest ever Powerball jackpot win – but there was nothing lucky or fortuitous about Bryant’s wealth. Instead, it was the result of a man who pushed himself and others to the limits of their capabilities; his famous Mamba Mentality that demanded every endeavor be conducted with maximum effort inspired countless people. His basketball skill may have been his outlet and what made him a star, but it was his attitude to life that made him transcend sport and become an icon.
Even in retirement, Bryant maintained his Mamba Mentality, throwing himself into his business interests including the Mamba Sports Academy, a multimedia agency – which produced an Academy Award-nominated short film – and his turn as a bestselling author.
Kobe’s enduring legacy
Worshipped as a figure by millions but for his family, Bryant was a father and husband. The pain that his widow Vanessa and surviving daughters must be experiencing at losing their husband/father and daughter/sister is unfathomable.
Indeed, as the one-year anniversary of their deaths came and went, the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers remain embroiled in lawsuits pertaining to the accident. Over the past 12 months, there have been lawsuits against pilot Ara Zobayan for wrongful death and negligence, against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department claiming deputies shared unauthorized photos of the crash, and even against Vanessa Bryant from her own mother, who claimed she was owed compensation for years working as an unpaid assistant. On top of being a painful year for the Bryants, it’s also been a very messy one.
That aside, Bryant’s life was a reminder to all to live every day and chase every pursuit with infinite effort; his death a sobering reminder to live each day as your last. That is Kobe’s enduring legacy and why more than a year later, the tragedy still feels raw.
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