Kobe Bryant’s death in 2020 sent shockwaves across the NBA. No one expected the legendary basketball player to die suddenly in a tragic helicopter crash.
NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith has his favorite memory with Kobe Bryant just three weeks before the Mamba’s tragic passing. Smith revealed that in an episode of ‘Full Send Podcast.’
“Kobe Bryant and I saw each other three weeks before he died,” Smith said. “New Year’s Eve, 2019, going into 2020. Where we were is nobody’s business, we were at a party of a superstar that was having a party at his house. People were around, and they saw us, and they were wondering what the hell was going on because even though we’d always see each other and give each other a pound and a hug, we kept hugging each other for like 15 minutes.”
People at the party must have been confused as to why Kobe and Smith were hugging each other for such a long duration. Smith explained the reason in detail.
“He was incredibly proud of me because of what I was doing in my career,” Smith added. “What I remember about that night is that I had never seen him that happy. And I was talking to him about his happiness, and he just said, ‘It’s just a good feeling to know that my initial list, I did it all. They can’t say nothing.’ And he said, ‘For the first time in my life, I’m at peace.’ He could go to a game with Gianna, god rest her lovely soul, and he could sit up there at the game, and there was no itch to be back on the court. There was no itch to have another championship. He did it.”
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Throughout his NBA career, Kobe Bryant was always driven by the motivation to be the best player in the history of the league.
But as revealed by Smith, that drive ended after retirement for the Mamba. He was finally enjoying a different aspect of his life that didn’t need him to have the itch to prove himself in the NBA.
Kobe Bryant Had A Legendary Career In The NBA
Many superstars have played in the NBA’s long history. But there aren’t many who can match what Kobe Bryant achieved during his 20-year-long career. Here’s a look at the major accomplishments of Bryant’s career in the league:
-5x NBA Champion
-2x NBA Finals MVP
-2007-08 NBA MVP
-15x All-NBA
-12x All-Defensive
-18x NBA All-Star
-2x NBA Scoring Champion
-4x NBA All-Star MVP
-1996-97 NBA All-Rookie
On top of that, Bryant spent his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers. That’s more than enough for him to be on tier 1 of the Lakers’ all-time GOAT pyramid.
For most fans, Kobe Bryant is a top-3 player in the history of the NBA, and since his death, many have truly realized what a great player he truly was. It’s sad that he died at the age of just 41 years old.
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