He should have been there.
We knew, from the moment of Kobe Bryant’s mic drop – “Mamba out” – after he hung 60 points on the Utah Jazz on the final night of his career, that he would someday be honored with a statue.
That was April 13, 2016. No one could possibly have known that Bryant, who had engineered an impressive second act in retirement, wouldn’t be around to bask in that glory when he was at last immortalized in bronze.
But it’s not too much of a second guess to wish that this would have taken place much, much sooner – indeed, to say it should have taken place much, much sooner, when he was here to appreciate it.
Thursday’s statue unveiling, fittingly scheduled on 2/8/24, came a little more than four years after the helicopter accident that shocked not only Southern California but all of the basketball world and took from us Kobe, his daughter Gianna – who wore No. 2 on the basketball court – and the other passengers who were on that helicopter headed for a girls basketball event.
Their names are just as important, and their friends and families have grieved just as much over the last four years: Passengers Alyssa Altobelli, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Christina Mauser and copter pilot Ara Zobayan. May they, too, always be remembered.
Kobe was the most public of figures, and he grew up before our eyes. From his beginnings as a Laker – his fierce desire to get on the court when his coach, Del Harris, wanted to be more cautious with his playing time; the airballs at the end of a deciding playoff game in Utah (with his willingness to take them and the ability to learn from them); his sometimes harmonious, sometimes fractious relationship with Shaquille O’Neal; the three titles with Shaq and two more with Pau Gasol – to the final years of his career as a veteran on a team in transition, we saw the triumphs and, yes, the flaws.
Those airballs, in overtime of a 98-93 Game 5 loss to the Jazz to end the 1997 Western Conference semifinals in Salt Lake City’s Delta Center, were revelatory even if we weren’t aware of it. Immediately afterward, Bryant – then an 18-year-old rookie – told us in the losing dressing room:
“My father (Joe “Jellybean” Bryant) always told me, ‘You win some and you’ve got to lose some too, but just make sure you learn from it and don’t let it get you down. Remember it during the summer, work hard and come back next year.’
“If we play this game again, I want the ball again. Tonight, I just didn’t come through, but there will be plenty more chances down the line.”
A couple of days later, when the Lakers were cleaning out their Forum lockers before heading home for the summer, he elaborated: “You’ve got to put it behind you. But, yeah, you have to pull it out at the appropriate time. When it’s summertime and you’re a little tired, a little down, you’re hurting and you don’t feel like working out, you pull it out of your memory bank and remember the situation. Hopefully, that can give me a little boost.”
It did, for years to come. And much of what made Kobe Kobe, and more than occasionally led to friction with, um, teammates who were less committed, was his strong, overriding belief that if he worked as hard as he could, why shouldn’t his teammates do the same?
Former coach Phil Jackson, who had his own moments with Headstrong Kobe through the years, recalled at Thursday’s celebration a conversation he had with Bryant regarding his teammates’ feeling that he didn’t hang around with the guys enough. Jackson said he told Bryant that if he ever wanted to be team captain he shouldn’t be so standoffish.
“Well, I should be captain now,” Bryant said, before responding: “All they think about is girls, hubcaps, whatever. I’m watching the game. It’s serious business for me.”
“And,” Jackson said, “that’s how he was.”
Those memories, and more, were recalled Thursday before the unveiling of the first of what Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s widow, said would ultimately be three statues – the one wearing No. 8, which was unveiled Thursday, to be followed by another with Gianna and a third in which he will be wearing No. 24.
Who else could pull off a mid-career number change the way Bryant did? He scored 16,866 points in 10 seasons and 707 games as No. 8, winning three championships. He scored 16,717 points in 638 games and won a regular-season MVP award and two more championships as No. 24.
“Those points, those wins, those trophies, they weren’t just statistics,” Lakers governor Jeanie Buss said. “They were moments that transformed us and brought joy to Laker fans in this city and across the world.”
We know that, for sure. The evidence, in part: The number of young men who grew up with the name Kobe or derivatives thereof, the number of Laker fans who wear No. 8 or No. 24 jerseys to this day, and the murals that have materialized throughout Southern California honoring Kobe, and often Gianna.
And, of course, all of those who believe in, and attempt to practice, what Bryant termed the Mamba Mentality.
“When we talk about the Mamba Mentality, it’s not just about you,” said Derek Fisher, a longtime Bryant teammate and now a high school coach at Crespi. “And for the guys and girls that wear the shoes and wear the jerseys and you talk about the Mamba Mentality, if you ain’t winning, you ain’t winning. And that’s what the Mamba Mentality was also about as well, to push everybody to be their best, not just you.
“… Kobe transcended basketball, the boundaries of the court. He touched the lives of all of us who had the privilege to know him. So in his memory, let us continue to strive for excellence, lead with unwavering dedication, and be the culture shifters that define the legacy of a true legend.”
Nobody can predict the future, but this should have been an occasion where Kobe could hear the tributes, accept the plaudits, offer his thanks and see the statue into which, according to Vanessa, he had input.
Dammit, he should have been there.
jalexander@scng.com
“And that he did.” pic.twitter.com/H9WDT4ymiD
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 9, 2024
Immortalized forever. 💜💛
"The House that Kobe built" pic.twitter.com/y86G2xILwE
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 9, 2024
“He wanted to be the best that he could possibly be. He wanted to be the best period.” Pau Gasol speaks on Kobe’s determination and how he made him a better person. pic.twitter.com/OTty8rJdwF
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 9, 2024
Jerry West speaks on Kobe Bryant’s incredible career and what it took to draft him to the Lakers. pic.twitter.com/vl7tPgG86C
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 9, 2024
Magic Johnson speaks on Kobe being a family man, his legacy, and being loved worldwide. pic.twitter.com/gvwXAAzgLB
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 9, 2024
“It almost comes alive. Looking at it you can feel Kobe, you can see Kobe, you can hear his voice.” James Worthy speaks on how special Kobe Bryant’s statue is and his impact on the city of Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/HS0eiYg7r5
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 9, 2024
"You can't write something better than this."
Mamba Forever. pic.twitter.com/oMA1BtmmZO
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 8, 2024
