Basketball stars are remembering Kobe Byant on his birth anniversary. He would have celebrated his 43rd birthday on Monday, 23 August.
The late Los Angeles Lakers legend is regarded as one of the finest players in the history of the NBA and has left behind a lasting legacy that transcends basketball into other sports and in life.
Kobe Bryant, who won five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, was born on 23 August 1978. For the twenty years he enjoyed as a basketball player, Kobe wore the number 24.
He breathed his last in January 2020r, passing away in a tragic helicopter crash alongside his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant.
The duo was buried in a private ceremony on 7 February at Pacific View memorial park in Corona Del Mar, California.
In May 2021, Bryant was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame along with contemporaries such as Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and Tamika Catchings.
Bryant was represented by his idol, Michael Jordan, and his wife, Vanessa, who delivered a speech in his place.
See also: Read Vanessa Bryant’s heartbreaking message to Kobe Bryant on his 42nd birthday and Hollywood rallies massive support for Vanessa Bryant’s ‘Mambacita’ collection.
Even after his tragic passing, his history has continued to grow since then.
Arguably, one of the most significant signs of Kobe’s legacy is the amount of respect and adoration that he continues to receive from his peers and generations of athletes who have come after him.
This was more noticeable on his birth anniversary, 23 August, as the world remembers the Black Mamba on his birth anniversary.
Bryant was celebrated on what would have been his 43rd birthday.
During his 20-year career with the Lakers, Bryant won five championships, two Finals MVP awards, a league MVP award in 2008, 18 All-Star Game appearances, 15 All-NBA selections and two Olympic gold medals.
There is also his 81-point game explosion against the Toronto Raptors in 2006, the second-most points scored in an NBA game by a single player, as well as the endless amount of clutch shots and buzzer-beaters that broke the hearts of franchises and fans across the country.
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