Blog 6: Kobe Byrant

By Jeremiah Gomez

My favorite athlete of all time Kobe Byrant was a NBA basketball player who suited up for my favorite team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe is known as one of the best basketball players of all time. So many records and achievements to his name. Five-time NBA Champion, two-time NBA Finals MVP, fourth all-time leading scorer in NBA history, and a league MVP in 2008. That’s just the most notable but he has so many accolades to count. He was an inspiration to many of today's NBA players who use the moves he did on the court.  

After he retired after 20 seasons with the Lakers. He pursued film production, winning an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film called “Dear Basketball” in 2018. Kobe tragically passed away in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, but his legacy and his “mamba mentality” will live forever. 

Kobe Byrant was my favorite athlete of all time. Unfortunately for me, I only got to watch his final years playing but I did watch his final game live when he dropped 60 points, the only player to drop more than 30 points in their last game. He doubled that record, and I watched it live on TV so that was cool. He’s one of the few people to inspire me. I love his work ethic giving it everything he has all the way to the finish line.