Kobe Bryant once said, “if you are afraid to fail you probably are going to fail.” Kobe was a legend and will never be known as less than that. During the mourning and loss of Kobe, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the best shooters the NBA has ever seen said: “ Most people will remember Kobe as a magnificent athlete who inspired a whole generation of basketball players  but I will always remember him as a man who was much more than an athlete.”

Almost everyone knows Kobe,  his daughter Gigi, and others including some of Gigi’s teammates tragically died in a helicopter crash heading one of Gigi’s basketball games. Kobe loved coaching her and watching his daughter play the game of basketball. He even stated, “She (Gigi) is better than I was at her age.” 

As most girls that play basketball know, the way girls play is way too often compared to the way boys play or considered not as entertaining as the boys who play the sport. Through coaching his daughter, he realized this problem and Kobe, being the amazing person he is, knew it wasn’t right. ESPN called Kobe an outspoken supporter of the WNBA. Kobe told CNN “there’s a lot of players out there that could play in the same league that I spent 20 years in”. After Kobe passed, David Fischer (WNBA Los Angeles Sparks head coach) said: “I want us to continue to push for what he was most recently striving for in terms of equity and opportunity for young girls, for girls like his daughters that are still with us.” 

Kobe Bryant joined the league of basketball straight out of high school in 1996. He was the 13th pick in round number one. He was first drafted to the Hornets then almost immediately drafted to the Lakers instead. Kobe married his wife in April of 2001. Soon after his first daughter Natalia was born in 2003. Following his oldest would be his other daughters Gigi, Bianka, and Capri. Kobe loved having girls. He even told Elle Duncan he knew God wanted him to be a girl dad. 

Elle Duncan Interview with Kobe 

Kobe was without a doubt one of the best players to ever play in the NBA. He was an inspiration to a lot of people around the world. He also had a huge part in making the game of basketball better for girls around the world. Kobe, his daughter, and the many others who tragically passed will be missed by not only their loved ones but people who knew them around the world.