Kobe was on my top ten of all time, but I still don’t feel like I appreciated him enough. I grew up on MJ so early on, I would say things to slight Kobe like how if Iverson, TMac or Vince got to play with Shaq, they would’ve won too. I would rank Duncan higher simply because he had the accolades, but Kobe was more dominant over a longer stretch of time. I even remember how Kobe slipped my mind when I put my top 5 highlight reel of all time.
One thing I will say is the time after that rape accusation and Shaq getting traded to Miami, that’s when I began to respect Kobe more. He showed not only could he still dominate without Shaq, but he stopped trying to be that “goody two shoes” and would just be himself. I said in the other thread how I was rooting like a longtime fan when he scored 60 in his final game. Then after he retired and seeing the moves he was making and how he interacted with his family made me a true fan of the PERSON he was. I haven’t listened to “These Our Are Heroes” in a min, and I don’t think I can ever listen to that song again.
I’m accepting this is reality, but it’s still so very hard to come to grips with this. Kobe Bryant!