A year without Kobe: the champion of basketball and family

“He was the only black child in Italy and the only Italian teenager in America”. Writer Andrea Careri describes Kobe Bryant as a boy in the book A day without Kobe (Ultra Edizioni), but it is a definition that sums up the uniqueness of one of the players who have made the history of basketball.

It was the January 26, 2020 when Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna and seven other people died in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles. A year has passed, impossible to forget for the world, but above all for his city.

“Los Angeles is Kobe as Naples is Maradona”, explains Careri, “The character of the city is that of the champion: it is the city where you arrive with a dream and struggle to get it. A city of divisions and contradictions. Kobe was a workaholic, one who trained to achieve perfection ».

Not only this though. The sudden and unimaginable death of the man who played for more than twenty years with the Lakers tells of an equal point for everyone. “Kobe left us suddenly …reminding everyone to try hard, to never give up, to work hard, to train, to always give their best and even something more… The Santa Muerte comes for everyone, so we have to encourage others and push them to give their all, just like Kobe did, showing that even a shy child raised in Italy can become the strongest player in the NBA ».

It was as if Kobe Bryant owned the basket, he had the soul and that from above he guided his Lakers to the victory of the NBA title after 10 years from the last triumph, in which he was on the field.

The Lakers’ victory was overwhelming and LeBron James received the compliments of a monument, Magic Johnson: “Well done, the mission is accomplished”. With this title the Lakers reached the Boston Celtics at the top of the NBA roll of honor with 17 rings. Especially the Lakers won by shouting before their 1-2-3 Mamba games. They wore Kobe’s shoes. They wore a black jersey he designed and with his nickname, Black Mamba. He tells it KOBE by Matteo Recanatesi and Marco Terrenato (published by L’Airone).

«There is the scream” Kobe “», say the authors, «made by Anthony Davis in the decisive basket in game-2 against the Nuggets. Because it’s a basket exactly like he would have made it, as if he had guided the player’s hand“. There is also the humanity of Kobe, the twenty years in the NBA through the relationships with the headlight coach Phil Jackson, with the beloved and hated partner Shaquille O’Neill, there are the night calls with Michael Jordan to ask for advice on how his daughter grows up in basketball who would later die with him.

Here, the fundamental thing to remember Kobe is missing: the family. “Being a father is the thing I’m most proud of in this world,” he said, “it’s my greatest achievement. I learned so much, but perhaps the deepest thing was the proud and unconditional love you have for your children when you become a parent. I am happy to have lived this experience four times and there is nothing more powerful in this world ».