Why is Kobe Bryant important to history?

The legend Kobe Bryant

He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in mid-May 2021, the pantheon of international basketball. A final consecration which follows his brutal death, on January 26, 2020, in a helicopter accident where his daughter and seven other people also lost their lives. His death mourned the world of basketball, astonishing the whole world as he embodied a true international muse . Four years earlier, he retired. 

This hard worker and perfectionist was born in Philadelphia in 1978, and it was mainly thanks to his father, who played in Italian teams, that he cultivated this passion for basketball, an unconditional fan of Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. He was only 17 when he was selected for the first time in the NBA by the Charlotte Hornets team. But very quickly, Bryant quickly seduces Jerry West, the manager of the Lakers, who agrees with the Hornets for his transfer. 

The start of his basketball career was marked by his irresistible duo with the 2.16 m and 150 kg kingpin-monster, Shaquille O’Neal . It was in the 2000s that the famous fullback truly took over from Michael Jordan, at the top of world basketball and accumulated records: he was selected 17 times for the All Star Games (annual basketball match between the best players of the Conferences East and West of the NBA), he twice won the title of MVP (best player) of the NBA Finals, he was twice Olympic champion, and five times NBA champion.  

Jacques Monclar, former player, basketball coach and journalist at Bein Sport, Maxime Malet and Yann Ohnona, journalists at L’Équipe , were guests on the program L’oeil du tigre , for a retrospective of the life of the deceased. The opportunity to look back on the most unforgettable moments of his career. 

We talk, with Michael Jordan, of the best player in the history of basketball

June 2000-2001-2002 – Triple champion, following

At that time it was still Kobe Bryant who wore jersey number 8, the time when the basketball player was renowned, if not criticized, for adopting a very individual, introverted, personal attitude which did not fail to provoke confrontations with his own team. , in particular the pivot Shaquille O’Neal, even though they complement each other perfectly on the sporting level. But it is still against the rest of the world that he illustrates his talents at the Lakers. His art of mimicry allows him to almost automatically capture the slightest playing techniques of his colleagues, in particular those of Michael Jordan.

For his first championship final, Kobe faces the famous duo Reggie Miller / Jalen Rose of the Indiana Pacers . He’s only 21 and is already proving to be key, with game-winning free throws helping the Lakers claim the win and lift the trophy again, something that hasn’t happened since 1988.

June 15, 2001, it’s the double, during which he exclaims ” Back to back to back*! “. More offensive and much more enduring than the previous year, against the Sixers of Allen Iverson. This is probably the first time that the team’s coach, Phil Jackson, has more clearly praised the qualities of the back. 

June 12, 2002, it’s the three in a row! Against the Brooklyn Nets worn by Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin. At 23, Bryant allows the Lakers to inflict a crushing defeat on their dominated opponents in four small games, including three won in a row. Number 8 raises his level of play a little more. We remember his decisive basket 20 seconds from the end sending the Nets. He becomes the youngest basketball player in NBA history to win three rings (three NBA championship trophies). And it’s far from over!  

You can take off that (Michael) Jordan shirt now, and put yours on!

– Shaquille O’Neal to Kobe Bryant 

* Expression used to mean the fact of playing two matches in a row in two evenings.

2006 – The transition from number 8 to number 24 

In 2003, Kobe and the Lakers were beaten by the Spurs in the conference semifinals. A failure that arouses deep disappointment in him, but which proves to be essential as it has led the back to find more resources to progress again and again. The Lakers suffered a final loss against the Detroit Pistons in 2004, signing the departure of Shaquille O’Neal and Phil Jackson. Kobe finds himself the only leader and begins the second part of his basketball career . 

From now on, he cultivates a greater sense of collective sharing. The change of number, going from 8 to 24, illustrates very well the entry into the second phase of his career, like this famous buzzer beater, who has become legendary, against the Phoenix Suns, during the first rounds of Playoff (final stages of the NBA championship) in April 2006. 

He was then 30 years old and found himself alongside Paul Gazol , this time, and Derek Fischer facing Dwight Howard and the Frenchman Mickaël Piétrus . Kobe Bryant is prodigious and still as motivated, convinced that he can win a title without the help of his former colleague, Shaquille O’Neal. And for proof, the Lakers beat the Magic. Kobe Bryant also won his first NBA Finals MVP title after the decisive match of the series. 

March 2010 – Confrontation with Matt Barnes from Orlando

During this match, Kobe had not moved an inch on a feint, close to his face, carried by Barnes during a throw-in. A historic coolness which allows to understand the spirit of the back of the Lakers, never being surprised or distracted. 

A way to show the world his “Mambas mentality”, this ability to surpass himself for a single objective: winning! 

We erase everything and start over, that was indeed Kobe’s goal and the reason for such great joy once the (close) victory was won two years later in 2010. In addition to Paul Gasol, Kobe was able to count on Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest . A decisive confrontation which was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, imagine the temperature! 

I have one more than Shaq! 

-Kobe Bryant, 2010

April 12, 2013 – Achilles tendon rupture 

Kobe Bryant is injured during the regular season, four minutes from the end of a game between the Lakers and Golden State in San Francisco. He ruptured his left Achilles tendon during an action, without shooting in extension. We do not suspect anything then, it is a temporary pain, he will recover. Especially since he gets two free throws to shoot, which he easily converts. 

Yann Ohnona remembers that at that time ” we see him feel his tendon with his hand, he tries to reattach his tendon. In general, athletes are writhing in pain, he doesn’t, he got up and went shoot his free throws, to the point where people didn’t think he got hurt .” 

Once again his impassivity and his composure are such that one would never have doubted that he would be injured and absent for a few months. An exceptional strength of spirit that a ruptured Achilles tendon could never have altered.  

April 13, 2016 – 60 points on the clock, for a last last stand 

After the first half, a kind of magic sets in: Kobe returns almost all his shots, igniting the room like never before. Against all odds, it was a double victory that went to the Lakers that day. Kobe scores 60 points for his last game. 

March 4, 2018 – An Oscar

Kobe also won an Oscar in 2018, that of the best animated short film, _Dear Basketball, co-_directed by Glen Keane, and by which he had cinematically adapted a poem, a love letter which he had addressed to the basketball. Kobe hat.