🐍 Remembering Kobe Bryant

The all-time NBA great tragically passed away on Sunday in a helicopter crash in California. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: We pay tribute to the late Kobe Bryant, a man who was matched by few others, both on and off the court. Kobe Bryant didn’t sleep much; just a few hours a night, which is a remarkably scant amount for an elite professional athlete. When I asked him a couple of years back why that was the case, he had a simple answer. “Because I have too much to do,” he replied. He was right. Before his tragic death in a helicopter crash in California on Sunday along with four others, including his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, the Los Angeles Lakers icon packed an extraordinary amount of achievement into his 41 years. As a basketball player, you probably know most of the basics, whether you’re a hardcore follower of the NBA or the most casual of fans. He will go down as one of the greatest to ever play the game, but that’s not even half the story. The international outpouring of sadness when the awful news emerged was because Bryant was a rare athlete with the ability to elicit different emotions from different people, so much larger than life that the thought of him not being around anymore doesn’t sit right. [STORY IMAGE 1] Millions will mourn Kobe and Gianna. It is, of course, by far the worst for his family, including his three surviving daughters and his wife of nearly two decades, Vanessa Laine Bryant. But others felt the bite of gloom on Sunday, most of whom never knew him at all. Bryant represented so many things; glamor, star power, cool, style. He was a showman, but not in the same way as some others. His career was laced with the dramatic not because he was playing to the crowd, but because for great athletes who are able to produce their finest when it matters most, spectacle naturally follows. For Bryant, it was always about winning, at all costs. He was ludicrously talented and came from a basketball family, but no one ever worked harder in the pursuit of excellence. Tales of his work ethic in practice are so plentiful that to single one out would be pointless, yet it didn’t end there. [STORY IMAGE 2] Bryant, a soccer fan, told me in 2018 how he’d enjoyed watching the FIFA World Cup from Russia that summer, because the games coincided neatly with his 4:30 a.m. stints on the treadmill. You sensed that even then he could still step onto a court on any given night and drop 40 on an NBA defense, if only the joints would hold out. The raw facts are that he won five NBA titles, two Finals MVPs, one NBA MVP, two Olympic gold medals, had 18 All-Star selections and scored 33,643 points. Past that, he was the face of basketball in the post-Michael Jordan era, the alpha male of all alpha males in a sport that cherishes its greats. By the end, his body was falling apart, but the spirit to shine never wavered. His final game, in April 2016, could have been an anticlimax and a somewhat sad farewell — until he exploded in the final quarter to cap off an incredible comeback and a 60-point haul. He left with a determined smile, not sadness, for Bryant was set on ensuring that the end of his time on the hardwood would be just the start of a new path that would allow him to test his mental capacities in fresh and exciting ways. [STORY IMAGE 3] That’s what led him to both storytelling and business, which, in his mind, were actually one and the same. The narrative of a company, he told me, was what made people care about a product. The business behind a book, like the series of children’s novels he ideated, was what ensured it reached as many people as possible. Retirement for him didn’t mean the golf course and an occasional trip to the television studios. It meant a whole separate journey. Winning an Oscar for Best Animated Short with Dear Basketball in 2018 wasn’t a bad way to get started. For many in Los Angeles, Bryant was the face of their childhood, back when the Lakers were even bigger than they are now, LeBron James and the promise of renewed success notwithstanding. There is a lot of junk on social media and it rarely has the power to move us as much anymore. Sometimes it is the most basic things that send chills. [Bryant’s brief but heartfelt message]( to congratulate James for passing him on the all-time NBA scoring list was sent just 16 hours before the news of his accident filtered through, the evidence there on the timeline. [STORY IMAGE 4] As in, 16 hours earlier Bryant, was alive, vibrant — just Kobe — and then, suddenly, he wasn’t, not anymore. Being larger than life can’t prevent you from death, it just means that person made the most of their time. Kobe Bryant was an All-Star, but there are a lot of All-Stars. He was a legend, but sports has a generous share of those, too. He was the Mamba, a competitor, a writer, thinker, father. He had flaws, but never lost the determination to seek perfection. Usually, he got close to it. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... David K. Li, NBC News: “Emotional scenes unfolded in pro arenas across America as eight games tipped off on one of the saddest days in recent basketball history. The Raptors won the opening tip in their game at San Antonio and then held the ball for 24 seconds without attempting a shot, resulting in a turnover. The Spurs reciprocated as players grieved on the floor for Bryant, who wore No. 24 in the back half of his Lakers career.” ESPN: “In New Orleans, where the Pelicans took on the Boston Celtics, the crowd was standing in unison at the tip, clapping and chanting, ‘Kobe, Kobe,’ while Boston's Kemba Walker and New Orleans' Lonzo Ball orchestrated their shot-clock strategy. As the two teams gathered at center court, Walker held up two and then four fingers to Ball, saying 'two-four, two-four.' Ball nodded, and when the Pelicans won the tip, Ball crossed center court and began clapping with the ball at his side. Walker and the Celtics did the same on the ensuing possession.” Rob Mahoney, The Ringer: “To the outside world, there is another kind of grief. Kobe Bryant was a legend — not just so famous as to seem larger than life, but so revered to the point of actual mythology. There are tales that Kobe would only sleep for a few hours at a time. A run of air balls against Utah became a Campbellian trial. His story took on a life of its own: the five rings, the late-game daggers, the persistence through injury, the ruthlessness on the court, the 81-point game, the fabled work ethic, the mechanical brilliance, the Mamba Mentality™, the torn Achilles, and the 60-point farewell. A player who did everything he could to fashion himself after Michael Jordan managed to capture his most ineffable quality. It is impossible to even have a conversation about Bryant without first pushing through the aura that surrounds him.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - FOX Sports [gathered the overwhelming outpouring of sentiment for the Bryants from around the globe](. - [Fans gathered at the Staples Center throughout Sunday]( to pay their respects to their hero. [You can watch the emotional scene here](. - Skip Bayless spoke on Undisputed about how [Bryant seemed destined for even bigger things]( in his life after basketball. - The New York Times’ Marc Stein explains why [the legacy of Kobe Bryant goes far beyond the historic numbers]( he put up. - LZ Granderson writes for CNN about how Kobe [transcended sports to become a cultural icon](. - On ESPN’s First Take, [Max Kellerman spoke passionately]( about the Black Mamba’s fierce and legendary competitiveness. - The Athletic’s Molly Knight penned [a must-read tribute to Gigi Bryant]( who already had tremendous skills on the court. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( This video encapsulates everything the sports world was feeling on Sunday, as the Raptors and Spurs exchanged 24-second shot clock violations to pay tribute to the ultimate 24, Kobe Bryant. Even watching this now, a full day after Bryant’s passing, the emotion and love in the above clip is nearly overwhelming. From the shots of the fans, to the coaches, to the chants for Kobe, everything on Sunday was for him. A man who was bigger than the sport deserved to have the sport stop entirely to pay its respects. There’s no bigger sign of respect. For more tributes from those who played alongside and against the man, [you can find a complete roundup of videos, tweets and other tributes by clicking here](. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Kobe Bryant: Death of a Legend (ABC, On Demand) Last night, ABC News aired a special one-hour tribute to Kobe Bryant, presented by Robin Roberts, Michael Strahan and Tom Rinaldi. [You can watch that special in its entirety by clicking this link](. [WHAT THEY SAID] “Everything negative — pressure, challenges — is all an opportunity for me to rise.” — Kobe Bryant [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download the FOX Sports app for live scores and streaming [App Store]( [Google Play]( Available on: [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] Forwarded this message? [Sign up](. Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2020 FOX Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. FOX.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, CA 90213-0900