I originally typed out a long post, but deleted it because it just seemed like too much. The gist of what I wanted to say is that one thing that made me respect Kobe a lot was something he talked about. It’s not about the success, but the failures that show your character. When Kobe was winning early, I was hating since I was a Bulls fan who didn’t like the MJ comparisons. When the media turned on him after that bogus rape accusation and Shaq left him alone in LA, that’s when I gained a newfound respect for him. He showed he could still dominate while being double and triple teamed. Another thing he did was he adopted a more “IDGAF” attitude towards the media as well. He was still quite eloquent, but he was more candid and didn’t simply give the “nice” sound bites. He was the player I feared the most when the game was on the line, because I just KNEW he would hit it. His rise from adversity after all his injuries late in his career as well. That final game when he scored 60, I was cheering for him like a die hard Laker fan. After he retired, like everyone has been saying, he just seemed happy, opposite the villain you saw on the court. Just seeing him chop it up with the younger players and having fun. Spending time with his family. This wasn’t supposed to happen...