Kobe Bryant is by far one of the most beloved figures in sports and probably the closest thing we will ever see to a prime Michael Jordan.
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Drafted out of Lower Merion High in 1996, Kobe Bryant was destined for greatness. He had all the skills and more importantly the determination to be the best.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing. The Black Mamba originally found himself in Charlotte, before forcing a trade to the Lakers. He had some scandals, including his infamous beef with Shaquille O’Neal.
Nevertheless, his mentality and drive are what got him to the top. Kobe ended his career averaging 25 points, 5 rebounds, and close to 5 assists a game.
On this day 6 years ago, Kobe Bryant stepped on the floor for the final time. We’ll never forget the “Mamba Out” speech 🙏
Even though the Warriors were breaking the all-time wins record at the time, everyone tuned in to watch Kobe drop 60 on the Jazz 🔥pic.twitter.com/kGII3rvhXR
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 13, 2022
He truly was a basketball phenom, and even came close to replicating the success of his idol Michael Jordan, but fell one short in the rings category.
Kobe Bryant was quite easily the second coming of Michael Jordan both in skill and mentality
Growing up, there was one player whom Kobe modeled his game after. That player was none other than Michael Jordan, widely considered the GOAT.
From their style of play to the way they approached the game psychologically. It was almost like Kobe was a carbon copy of MJ. This also included how they terrorized their competition.
In the year 2000, Kobe Bryant showed Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and the San Antonio Spurs just why he is considered to be the second coming of Air Jordan at just 22 years of age!
No spacing, no flopping, no stat padding and no showboating just nasty bucket after nasty bucket going into the chest of one of the great defenses of that era 😤
Kobe Bryant as a 22-year-old was already the second best thing we had seen on the perimeter to Michael Jordan. pic.twitter.com/yJkcrSx1EA
— Ball Don’t Stop (@balldontstop) May 11, 2022
He truly was a joy to watch and will continue to be missed by basketball fans all around the world.