Maybe you’re not into basketball. Maybe you’re not into sports at all. But no matter who you were, Washington Redskins fan, Star Wars fanatic, or disconnected scrapbooker, you knew who Kobe Bryant was.
It was not just the nature of Bryant’s accomplishments, but of Bryant himself, that demanded he would rise to the exalted echelon of the sports lore, and in effect, transcend the very realm of sports itself. Bryant played in the NBA for 20 years. In 18 of those years, he was an NBA All-Star. He won five NBA championships, an MVP award in 2007, and ended his career as the league’s all-time scoring leader.