For millions of people around the globe, Kobe Bryant was so much more than a basketball icon. While his enthralling twenty-year career never let us down whenever he suited up in the purple and gold, his life was a testament to so much more than five championships. He embodied a killer mindset while also setting the standard for fatherhood. The sacrifice he preached throughout his time in the NBA never came at the cost of his family, as he always made time for what truly meant the most to him. It was always made clear by him that basketball was not who he was. His passion for the written word and for filmmaking was quickly made apparent as he won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2018. Life was just beginning for Bryant at the age of forty-one, not to mention for his thirteen-year-old daughter, Gianna who was going to be the next Kobe Bryant and then some. Her love for the game sparked a strong passion within Kobe’s life to fight for women’s rights, especially within the basketball world. “I think there are a couple of players who could play in the NBA right now, honestly,” he remarked about a week before his passing.

The death of the legend, his daughter, as well as the other seven lives that were lost in the same tragedy sent shockwaves throughout the world. Kobe was a superhero to many. He did things during his NBA career that one could only marvel at and only dream of being able to do. He was immortal, and his sudden passing made everyone stare at the news reports and hope to wake up from what was hopefully a bad dream. To grow up watching someone who made you love something as much as Kobe made millions love the game of basketball, then to suddenly see them go in such a horrific manner alongside seven other lives and his daughter, is no light matter.

His legacy will continue to live on, and, as he so famously said, “Heroes come and go, but legends are forever.”