A hushed voice and these words: “We both know, no matter what we do in the future, that I will remain this child with the socks turned up, the trash can in a corner with 5 seconds remaining on the clock , the ball in my hands. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1. Love you always, Kobe ”. So ends Dear Basketball, which won him an Oscar in 2018. This animated film, a little gem that retraces his passion for sport and is inspired by a text he had written to announce his retirement in 2016, has a very special echo today.
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Kobe Bryant, tribulations of a sports legend
In the United States, the emotion remained strong in the aftermath of the tragedy that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant. With the death of the basketball player, an entire America, in shock, mourns an icon. The surge of tributes, and the speed with which the drama reached all strata of society, demonstrates how far its aura extended far beyond the world of sport. The emotion is heightened by the fact that his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, a hopeful female basketball player, died in the helicopter crash with him. Kobe Bryant, 41, was the father of three other girls, the last of whom was born last summer.
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America mourns the death of Kobe Bryant
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Bad weather
On Twitter, Clint Capela, the Geneva star of the Houston Rockets, is one of the thousands of people who shared their emotion: “Each generation claims its” best player of all time “(the acronym GOAT). He was ours. RIP Kobe and Gianna. Condolences to his wife and daughters ”.
Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama – a big basketball fan -, NBA legends Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, whom Kobe Bryant admired, all lined up the superlatives. At the Grammy Awards, which took place in his Los Angeles Lakers stadium, singer Alicia Keys dedicated a song to her: “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday”.
The NBA, through its boss Adam Silver, says it is “annihilated” by this death. Five-time NBA champion with the Lakers, double Olympic champion with Team USA in 2008 and 2012, Kobe Bryant had an exemplary career, before ending it in 2016, after 20 seasons.
In a statement, Adam Silver praised the “remarkable talent” of “one of the most extraordinary players in the history of basketball”. But he also noted his generosity, which made millions of young people want to practice sport: “he considered it his mission to share his passion with future generations, taking particular pleasure in transmitting his love of game in Gianna “. Through The Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation, with a philanthropic goal, Kobe Bryant wanted to help young people “dream big”. He also came to the aid of the homeless.
The Sikorsky S-76B which transported it on Sunday crashed in Calabasas, a few kilometers from Los Angeles, before catching fire. The nine passengers perished. According to the first elements of the investigation, the weather conditions were bad – thick fog – and the helicopter, which had obtained a special authorization to fly, was flying low. He would have hit a hill. Kobe Bryant was taking his daughter to a basketball tournament. According to US media reports, two of Gianna’s teammates, her trainer and parents were also on board the helicopter.
Hours before the drama, Kobe Bryant had time to react to LeBron James of the Lakers, who had become the third best scorer in NBA history, relegating him to 4th place. “Keep advancing the game like that @KingJames. A lot of respect, my brother “: this was his last tweet. LeBron James learned of the tragedy when a plane descended in Los Angeles. Images of his arrival show him very tested.
The year 2003
Kobe Bryant had a particularly difficult year in 2003. That year, he was charged with rape by a 19-year-old hotel worker when he was just recovering from a knee arthroscopy. The player admitted to having sex with the young woman, but always assured that she was consenting. The trial ultimately did not take place, the victim having accepted an extra-judicial arrangement.
In the documentary Kobe Bryant’s Muse (2015), the Philadelphia native claims to have had the idea for his nickname “Black Mamba” during these difficult times, looking Kill bill by Quentin Tarantino. In Africa, this majestic snake is called “minute snake” because of the speed with which its venom turns out to be deadly. For Kobe Bryant, the idea was mainly to build a kind of second skin, and to display his composure. “I had to separate from myself. It felt like everything was falling on me at the same time. It got really confusing […]. So I created the Black Mamba, “he explains in the documentary.
The nickname has remained with him ever since, and has even been exploited by his sponsor, Nike. “Mamba out,” he said in his last game in 2016.
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