Kobe Bryant: NBA superstar will be remembered for family, charity work, and Oscar win as much as his generational talent
THE term legend is thrown around all too often these days, but make no mistake, Kobe Bryant is a legend.
Yes, you can look at all the numbers you want to back up the claim.
The American shooting guard - who tragically passed away in a helicopter crash aged 41 - was a five-time NBA champion, an MVP, two-time NBA Finals MVP, 18-time All-Star and even two-time Olympic gold medallist.
But that is merely scratching the surface of a man who has frequently been described as the most complete all-round basketball star in the game's history.
Pure numbers can't even remotely describe what Kobe meant to not only basketball, but to the world.
Dying in a helicopter crash in Calabasas on Sunday, Kobe Bean Bryant will forever be remembered.
The 13th pick in the 1996 draft straight out of high school, Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history at the time. And no one could have expected just what he would go on to become.
For 20 years, Kobe - named after the ultra-expensive beef from Japan - wore the gold and purple of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Through two decades, Bryant carried the weight of leading arguably the most-well-known, most-followed basketball team on the planet - up there with the New York Knicks - almost entirely on his shoulders.
Clutch game-winners and flying dunks will forever be what he's best-remembered for... not to mention his win-at-all-costs approach.
Alongside fellow legend Shaquille O'Neal, Bryant won three NBA titles in a row between 2000 and 2002.
Never afraid to take the tough shot, including his iconic fadeaway jumper, Bryant was often dubbed selfish.
"Pass? Just get the rebound!", many joke even to this day.
But this was a guy who won five NBA titles. The team meant everything to him.
In a sport where players are traded - or opt to enter free agency to earn a few extra million dollars - Bryant stuck around at the Lakers for his whole career.
The ultimate one-team superstar. Both of his jersey numbers - 8 and 24 - have deservedly been retired by the Lakers, with Bryant the franchise's all-time record points scorer.
Who could forget his outrageous 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors in 2006? To this day that mark is the second-highest tally in a single game behind only fellow former Laker Wilt Chamberlain (100).
His 62 in just three quarters a year earlier is equally well spoken of these days.
And then there was his farewell tour of a season in 2016, where arenas across the USA stood, applauded and watched in awe as a true hero of the game hung up his sneakers.
In fitting manner, Bryant notched 60 points in his final game against the Utah Jazz. One last hurrah, reminding everyone just what an animal he was.
Nothing can epitomise Bryant's approach to the game more than one fateful night in 2013.
During a game against the Golden State Warriors, Bryant's explosiveness was cruelly ripped away from him after he tore his Achilles after being fouled.
But did Bryant leave the court? Of course not. He had two free throws to take. And make, no less.
Those points ultimately made all the difference, as the Lakers beat their California rivals by two points. His two points.
On announcing his decision to retire, Bryant wrote a poem - addressed to basketball - in which he claimed: "I played through the sweat and hurt — not because challenge called me, but because YOU called me.
"I did everything for YOU because that’s what you do when someone makes you feel as alive as you’ve made me feel."
He retired as the third-highest points scorer in NBA history. Bryant has only just been overtaken, by old on-court rival - and the man he passed the torch onto - LeBron James.
LeBron - battling Bryant and Michael Jordan for the title of the all-time NBA Goat - was lavish in his praise.
Now at the Lakers himself, James said: "He had zero flaws offensively. Zero.
"He was just immortal offensively because of his skill set and his work ethic."
An outrageously intelligent man, Bryant was fluent in Italian and Spanish - having grown up Italy where his father was a professional hooper too.
Kobe - nicknamed the Black Mamba during his career - also wrote a series of kids books and even won an Oscar for his short film Dear Basketball in 2018.
Bryant, so long known as a slayer of defenders on the court, had a softer side.
On his newer passions, he said: “To finally have the time to pursue this other side of who I am, one that inspires me, has been endlessly rewarding."
His softer, ultra-generous side was well-known after his retirement, with Bryant frequently inviting current NBA stars to his home to train them up.
Giannis Antetokounmpo famously took him up on his offer and months later the "Greek Freak" was the league's Most Valuable Player.
Influential. Inspirational. Just two words that can never do the man justice.
My heart now goes out to Kobe's family - with Vanessa, his wife since 2001 dealt a cruel, double-blow.
The pair had four daughters: Natalia, 17, Gianna (Gigi), 13, Bianka, 3, and new-born Capri.
In a heart-wrenching twist of fate, Gigi was also on the helicopter which crashed and killed all nine people on board, including her dad.
Gigi herself was a monstrously talented basketball player, with devoted dad Kobe and his second child so often seen taking in games together.
Kobe was no doubt coaching his teenage daughter, tipped for a bright future in the WNBA at such a young age.
Those images of the pair courtside will now be truly bitter-sweet and hauntingly poignant.
Most read in sport
Kobe and Vanessa shared 19 years together and stood by each other through thick and thin.
In an otherwise blemish-free career, Bryant was charged with sexual assault after being accused of attacking a 19-year-old employee at a Colorado resort.
Bryant had said the two had consensual sex and prosecutors later dropped the case at the request of the accuser.
Kobe and Vanessa heartbreakingly suffered a miscarriage in 2005, a year before the birth of Gianna.
They filed for divorce in 2011, but opted to stay together - publicly revealing so two years later.
Last but certainly not least, Bryant was the official ambassador a children's charity called After-School All-Stars.
The organisation provides after-school programs to 72,000 inner-city kids in need.
So famous for his on-court talent, I have no doubt Bryant will hope his legacy will be about his family and charity work rather than his skill on the hardwood.
Bryant will be remembered as a legend of the basketball world. But he was more than that... so much more.