For those that do not know, Kobe Bryant has passed away yesterday, January 26th 2020, at the age of 41 along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant, in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Kobe Bryant had one of the most illustrious careers in NBA history.

Widely known as the internet-popular GOAT 🐐 (Greatest Of All Time), Kobe was known for his killer instinct, insatiable competitive spirit, and gifted talent matched by his unwavering work ethic, passion for constant improvement, and an obsession for analyzing the game of basketball. His style of play on the court included his signature post moves that ended in his iconic fadeaway that single-handedly willed losing games back into contention.

Self-proclaimed as the "Black Mamba" for its deadly accuracy and rapid striking, Kobe created the "Mamba Mentality" which is a contagious competitive mentality that could be applied to most, if not all, areas of life. Kobe will be forever immortalized for his contributions to modern society's high-performance culture. He was more than just a basketball player to me, he was bigger than just basketball.

The Mamba Mentality as described by Kobe himself is "the ultimate mantra for the competitive spirit". This killer mentality is on display in all different types of sports including esports itself. Mimicking Kobe's pinpoint accuracy, I, myself, would shout at the top of my lungs "KOBE!" when throwing a paper ball into the trash can. Even esports competitors shout "KOBE!" during a pro CS:GO tournment. The Mamba Mentality is viral in all forms of culture citing Kobe's precision and competitiveness.

Kobe's influence was far-reaching enough to influence those who didn't even watch basketball or follow sports, similar to how people know about Tiger Woods even though they do not play or follow golf. He was just so entertaining to watch that people who do not normally follow basketball are excited to watch his performance. The energy of the crowd, the tension and stakes of each game, and Kobe's dead-serious look on the court added up to an exhilarating game of basketball to watch. Even if Kobe's intention was to not market and ambassador the game of basketball, many would consider him to be the global ambassador of the NBA of his generation.

Watching Kobe's success as a child, I was inspired to adopt his competitive mentality to strive to be at my best in whatever I do. His attitude to work hard and engage in deliberate practice followed by his success and achievement as a result is what motivates me and continues to motivate many other individuals around the world to work towards performing at their highest level even in the face of uncertainty.

Overall, Kobe's career after his retirement at the end of the 2016 NBA season showed that he was more than just an athlete. Kobe was starting his career in film production with his Academy award-winning short film "Dear Basketball" being the first Oscar win for any professional athlete and sharing his basketball IQ analysis with the world. He had so much to offer the world in terms of his production talent, his basketball IQ, and his high-performance behavior. Goodbye Kobe. You were more than just basketball. You will forever be remembered and immortalized. Mamba out. #8 #24

Here's a link to a beautiful picture of Kobe and Gianna that I didn't want to use here due to potential copyright infringement.