3 years after the death of Kobe Bryant

The sports world could not forget the helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, in which 7 more people died, as well as 41-year-old Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna.

He won 5 NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, was selected as an All-Star 18 times, received the MVP award for the regular season in 2008 and the final series in 2009 and 2010, while wearing the uniform of the US National Team. Games 2012 Olympics. The death of gold medal winner Kobe Bryant shocked basketball fans.

Images of Bryant, or the numbers 8 and 24 associated with him, were painted on basketball courts and street walls around the world.

AUGUST 24 KOBE BRYANT DAY

Bryant, who played 1,566 games in the NBA, 220 of which were in the playoffs, and from the rafters of the Staples Center, the Lakers’ hall, hung his jerseys with numbers 8 and 24, which he wore throughout of his career. the first NBA basketball player to have two retired jerseys for the same team.

The city of Los Angeles has not forgotten about Kobe Bryant, who ended his 20-year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers at the end of the 2015-2016 season. In the summer of 2016, the municipality decided that August 24 would be “Kobe Bryant Day” in honor of the basketball star.

Kobe’s organization date was set as “08.24” due to the number 8 and 24 jerseys the player wore throughout his career.

LOSES LIFE IN HELICOPTER ACCIDENT

The helicopter, which was taking off to go to the basketball game of the Mamba Sports Academy, founded by Bryant, had an accident in the city of Calabasas. As a result of the investigation related to the accident, it was determined that the helicopter piloted by Ara Zobayan was out of control due to dense fog.

The basketball player, nicknamed the “Black Mamba”, tweeted that LeBron James, who was wearing a Lakers jersey hours before the accident, surpassed him to become the 3rd leading scorer in league history, “Keep moving forward in the game. I have a lot of respect for my brother”, he had commented.

Bryant, who married Vanessa Laine in 2001 and has 4 daughters named Bianka, Gianna, Natalia, Capri, had his last thrill of fatherhood in June 2019.

BROUGHT IN ITALY

Kobe Bean Bryant, who is constantly compared to the legendary player Michael Jordan, who marked the 80s and 90s with his position, style of play, shots behind, most importantly his ambition to win, and who had 6 championships , was born on August 23, 1978. He was born in Philadelphia, United States. Father Joe Bryant, who plays basketball in the NBA and in Europe, named his only son after the famous steak from Kobe, Japan, which he loved very much.

Kobe, who was introduced to basketball at the age of 3, moved to Italy with his family at the age of 6 after his father’s transfer to the Sebastiani Rieti team. Bryant, who learned Italian and Spanish here and went to the United States to play basketball in the summer, returned to his country in 1991 when his father gave up basketball.

Turning heads with his performance at Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia, Bryant was 17 when he decided to go straight into the NBA draft without going to college. Chosen 13th by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 draft, Kobe’s rights were acquired by the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he had dreamed of playing since he was a child, in exchange for Serbian center Vlade Divac.

GO TO STORY

The 2004-2005 season, when coach Phil Jackson left the team and O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, marked the beginning of a new era for Bryant, who was looking forward to what might come next. . do without O’Neal. The Lakers failed to reach the playoffs in the season in which Bryant averaged 27.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant’s paths crossed once again in 2005-2006. Bryant, who had a great start to the season with Jackson, sent 62 points in 3 quarters to the Dallas Mavericks in December.

Basketball fans witnessed history on January 22, 2006, when the Lakers hosted the Toronto Raptors. Completing the game with 81 points, Bryant became the “second highest scoring NBA player in a game” after Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 100 points in 1962 and captured the Elgin Baylor Lakers club record with 71. points. Kobe averaged 35.4 points in his career in the season the Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

Nicknamed the “Black Mamba,” a kind of venomous snake for his cruelty to opposing defenses, Bryant took the scoring game to a whole new level in the 2006-2007 season. With 65, 50, 60 and 50 points in March, respectively, Kobe left his mark on history as “the second most often NBA player to pass the 50-point threshold” after Chamberlain. The Lakers closed out the season, in which Bryant scored 50 or more 10 times, again by going out in the first round of the playoffs.

BACK TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP YEARS

The Lakers re-entered the champion team’s mood in the 2007-2008 season, when Spanish center Pau Gasol joined the team midway through the year. The Lakers reached the NBA Finals the season Bryant was named regular season MVP for the first time in his career, averaging 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists. But they lost 4-2 to the Boston Celtics, which included Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo.

After Kobe reached the final for the first time without O’Neal, he led his team to the final again in the 2008-2009 season. Defeating the Orlando Magic 4-1, in which Hidayet Türkoğlu is also an important part, the Lakers reached the top of the NBA 7 years later. Kobe was named MVP of the final series for the first time in his career.

The Lakers took revenge with a score of 4-3 against the Celtics, who lost the final 2 years ago in the 2009-2010 season. Bryant, who was selected as the MVP of the final series consecutively, wore the fifth championship ring and gave the best answer to those who doubted him.

BREAKING WITH 60 NUMBERS

On April 13, 2016, when Kobe stepped onto the court for the last time, he gave sports fans unforgettable moments. Bryant finished his 20-year career scoring 60 points in a 101-96 win against the Utah Jazz.

Making 60 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in the last game of his career, which he played in front of the public at the Staples Center, the basketball player tried 50 shots during his 42 minutes on the field, reaching the highest score of his career on this field. .

Bryant, 37, took his place in history as the oldest NBA player to pass the 60-point threshold, playing in the fifth highest-scoring game of his career. (AA)