Six years ago today was a day the city of Los Angeles would never forget.
Kobe Bryant, one of the city’s most beloved figures, and eight others were killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. Known for his exploits on the court and insane competitive nature, Bryant is remembered for all he accomplished during his 20-year career with the Lakers.
But what stood out to me about Bryant wasn’t his career-high 81-points against Toronto in 2006. Or his 62 points in three quarters against Dallas in 2005. Or his 50-plus points in four straight games in 2007. Or when he made two free throws after suffering a torn Achilles’ tendon against Golden State in 2013.
Bryant helped make my career.
Kobe Bryant with his family at halftime after both his #8 and #24 Los Angeles Lakers jerseys are retired at Staples Center on Dec.18, 2017. Getty Images
Kobe Bryant reacts in the third quarter against the Utah Jazz at Staples Center on April 13, 2016. Getty Images
It started when I was a fledgling reporter covering high school girls basketball and doing office shifts in 2013. I wanted to cover the NBA, so I pitched going to Lakers games and practices during my free time to shoot videos and write sidebars. With nothing to lose except the newspaper’s reputation, my editor at the time reluctantly agreed.
Bryant was a mythical figure. I was a no-name girl straight out of college who felt like I had duped my editor into getting in a room I didn’t belong.
But I decided to ask Bryant for a one-on-one interview. I had nothing to lose, except getting laughed out of the gym, fired and missing an upcoming girls basketball tournament, during which I’d have to cover a mind-numbing 10 straight games.
It was a risk I was happy to take.
In those days, Lakers players walked past reporters to get to the training room. So, I shot my shot. As Bryant walked by, I introduced myself and asked if he’d be willing to answer a question or two. He obliged.
Kobe Bryant goes up for a dunk against the Golden State Warriors at the Staples Center on March 4, 2001. NBAE via Getty Images
Kobe Bryant celebrates after defeating the Orlando Magic 99-86 in Game Five of the 2009 NBA Finals on June 14. Getty Images
Over the next year, I regularly attended practices and games. Bryant couldn’t have been kinder to me. He’d allow me to pull him off to the side and point a camera in his face. Whatever he said went viral.
Who’s the best Kobe-stopper? “It would probably be the one who got the best deal off of saying he was a Kobe-stopper.” If you were to receive a compliment from one player in the league, whose compliment would mean the most to you? “I don’t really care about any of them, really.”
If you weren’t a basketball player, what would you be? “I have no idea, I’d be a bum.” What’s the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you during a game? “I went to dunk the ball and my shorts fell down.”
It was silly stuff.
Getty Images
WireImage
At this point in my career, I cringe at the questions I asked and my obnoxiously loud laugh as he answered them. But Bryant somehow laughed along with me.
Things changed for me that summer.
It was July 2013 and Bryant was hosting a basketball camp at UC Santa Barbara. Just three months earlier, he had suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon, which would alter the course of his career.
It was an incredibly tough time for Bryant, whose Lakers had entered the 2012-13 season as championship favorites, with him playing alongside Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Metta World Peace, but they imploded in the first round of the playoffs against San Antonio.
I knew, I just knew, if I went to his camp, Bryant would open up about it all.
Sports Illustrated via Getty Images
NBAE via Getty Images
I told my editor I was going. I begged him to send a videographer along. He approved my request. Now, I wasn’t just risking wasting my time, I was potentially wasting someone else’s, making a videographer drive three hours and sit in a gym all day. If Bryant didn’t feel like talking, I’d be consigned to covering high school girls basketball tournaments forever.
I was nervous. I had no guarantees. Bryant was coming off some of the hardest months of his life. Why would he want to talk? But as soon as Bryant saw a familiar face at his camp, he walked over and gave me a hug. Then he gave me a five-minute exclusive interview.
After that, my career trajectory began to change.
I became the LA Times Clippers blogger. Two years later, I left the LA Times and went on to cover the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors before returning to Los Angeles to cover the Lakers. In 2020, I was hired as a national NBA writer for FOX Sports. Five years later, I took this job at the California Post.
Bryant jump-started it all.
Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers hoists the Larry O’ Brien and Bill Russell MVP trophy after defeating the Orlando Magic in Game Five of the 2009 NBA Finals at Amway Arena on June 14, 2009. NBAE via Getty Images
Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers backs in on LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half at Staples Center on March 10, 2016. Getty Images
He’s one of the greatest basketball players of all time — a five-time champion, 18-time All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist and one-time MVP.
But to me, he was a kind person.
I have one regret when it comes to Bryant. I never told him what that initial interview meant to me. I never told him how much that act of generosity helped shape my career.
When I told a coworker I was writing this column, he asked me how I reconcile Bryant’s impact on me professionally with what happened in Colorado. (Bryant was charged with felony assault in 2003 after a front-desk clerk at a hotel in Edwards, Co. claimed he raped her. The accuser decided not to testify and the case was dropped. A civil suit was later settled out of court.)
I didn’t have an answer. I still don’t. The only thing I can come up with is that no one is all good or all bad. Not presidents, not actors and not our sports heroes.
To some, Bryant was the epitome of greatness. To others, he was a villain. He embraced that duality, nicknaming himself “The Black Mamba.”
Kobe Bryant reacts in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets in Game Two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals at Staples Center on April 23, 2008. Getty Images
Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Atlanta Hawks at Staples Center on November 17, 2019. Getty Images
This much is for sure: Bryant deeply touched millions of people around the world.
He wasn’t just a basketball superstar, he was the representation of hard work and dedication. He transcended sports, his “Mamba Mentality” becoming a phrase used by people across all disciplines to describe fierce relentlessness.
After he died, Kyrie Irving was so grief-stricken that he left Madison Square Garden. LeBron James cried. Both James and Anthony Davis got tattoos to honor him. To this day, countless players cite Bryant as their inspiration, including Jayson Tatum, Klay Thompson and Devin Booker, to name a few.
Murals of him were painted in multiple countries. Former United States Presidents and A-list celebrities posted heartfelt messages about him on social media. Thousands of people went to Staples Center to honor him.
Many people still remember where they were when they heard the gut-wrenching news that Bryant’s helicopter crashed. It was that big, that horrible. There was a collective sadness in Los Angeles that I hadn’t experienced since the terrorist attacks on 9-11.
To this day, his impact is felt everywhere.
Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in Game Seven of the 2010 NBA Finals at Staples Center on June 17, 2010. Getty Images
He’s the only NBA player who has three statues outside of an arena. Before Lakers games, there’s still a line of people waiting to take photos with them.
Bryant was only 41 years old when he died.
It feels as though the world was robbed of his second act. Shortly after he retired in 2016, he won an Oscar for his short film “Dear Basketball,” which was based on the poem he wrote to announce his final season. He wrote several children’s books which became New York Times bestsellers.
Bryant was the type of person who could accomplish whatever he wanted. Through sheer willpower and dedication, he made all of his dreams come true. He made that seem possible for all of us, if we just worked hard enough.
He was basketball royalty. He was a budding creative star. He was a husband. He was a father of four girls.
But to me, he was something else.
He was someone with extraordinary power who used it to be kind to a hungry, young journalist, forever changing her life.
He’s a large reason why you’re reading these words today.
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