CLEVELAND — News of Kobe Bryant’s untimely passing Sunday in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California that claimed the lives of eight others, including his 13-year old daughter, Gianna, rocked the sports, news and entertainment worlds.
Memorial tributes flooded social media outlets, and following their respective competitions, athletes of all sports used their postgame interview time to reflect on the loss and remember Bryant for who he was, on and off the floor.
“He would lock up on D,” Tiger Woods recalled after finishing his round at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. “He played their best guard and shut ‘em down for all 48 minutes. That’s what made him so special -- he played both ends of the court. There are maybe two guys, three guys in the entire NBA history that would do that. He was up for that challenge.
“One of the more impressive things that I’ve ever witnessed is when he ruptured his Achilles, and he went to the foul line, made his shots. Ultimate toughness, ultimate competitor.”
According to ESPN reports, Woods’ caddy, Joe LaCava, found out the news of Bryant’s passing while they were on the front nine. However, LaCava waited until after the round to inform Woods, which brought clarity to him for the chants he heard while on the course.
“I didn’t understand why they were yelling, ‘Do it for Mamba,’ on the back nine,” Woods said. “People yell things all the time, so I was just plodding along, doing my own thing. It’s unbelievable, the reality that he’s no longer with us.
“I grew up a die-hard Laker fan, always have been my entire life. That’s all I remember, and he was part of the most historic franchise in all of the NBA.”
Bryant entered the professional ranks straight out of Lower Merion High School in the Philadelphia suburb of Ardmore, Pennsylvania in 1996, around the same time Woods turned pro and took the golf world by storm for the better part of 20 years.
Originally selected by the Charlotte Hornets and traded to the Lakers in the summer before his rookie season, Bryant was the first guard to be taken in the first round of the NBA Draft straight out of high school, and that proved to be a great decision for the Lakers.
Bryant scored 33,643 points, pulled down 7,047 rebounds, handed out 6,306 assists, converted 44.7 percent of his 26,200 shots from the field and knocked down 1,827 three-pointers in his 20 seasons with the Lakers.
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In addition to his statistics, Bryant’s success can be measured by the five championship teams he was a part of and the tireless work ethic and competitiveness, both on and off the court that led him to retire as the then-game’s No. 3 overall scorer.
“We really connected more on the mental side of it, the prep, how much it takes to be prepared,” Woods said. “You’ve still got to pay attention to the details, and that’s what he did better than probably any other player in NBA history. He paid attention to the details, the little things.
“The amount of hours he spent in the gym in the offseason and during the summers to work on shots and do all the different things, it looked like it came natural to him on the court during game time, but he spent more hours looking at film and trying to figure out what’s the best way to become better. That’s where he and I really connected.”