Kobe Bryant, the 41-year-old retired N.B.A. star and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, were among nine people who lost their lives in a helicopter that crashed near Calabasas, California, on Sunday.
The party was travelling to an academy where Bryant coached his daughter’s team. Bryant is rated as one of the best players in N.B.A. history. Fans gathered at Staples Center, where Bryant delivered five championship titles with the Lakers.
Thoughts are with the Bryant family this day, while the player’s sporting family of fellow players through coaches and fans, paid tribute to Kobe Bryant (son, brother, husband, father, winner of five N.B.A. titles, two Olympic golds) in various ways, this N.B.A. tribute on ESPN a poignant, emotional and reflective moment for many.
Tributes In ‘The House That Kobe Bryant Built’
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA All-Time Leading Scorer:
Tributes – and Memories Of A French Tragedy In Swimming
Much love has been expressed at home and around the world in the hours since the accident and tragic loss of life was reported.
The death of Bryant and those travelling with him will be felt keenly by the French swimming community this morning.
Camille Muffat – Photo Courtesy: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
March 25, 2015 marked the funeral of Camille Muffat, the Olympic 400m freestyle champion of London 2012. She was among those who lost their lives when helicopters collided and crashed during filming for a Reality TV show in Argentina.
The ceremony and remembrance took place in Nice, the home town where she had worked for many years as a girl with an Olympic dream on the way to London 2012. Her work with coach Fabrice Pellerin turned the dream into reality.
In the midst of the sorrow for Muffat’s passing, space was found to celebrate her life and her achievements. The service at the Church of Saint Jean-Baptiste-Le Voeu was attended by Pellerin, swimmers Yannick Agnel, Charlotte Bonnet and the president of the French swimming federation and former swimmer Francis Luyce.
Agnel, beyond his own magnificent triumphs at London 2012, with gold in the 200m free and a key role in delivering 4x100m free gold for France, spent time training in the United States with Bob Bowman at North Baltimore. Agnel posted a simply but moving tribute to Kobe Bryant:
https://twitter.com/YannickAgnel/status/1221549389908451328
Luyce led a minute’s silence for Camille Muffat in a remembrance ceremony at the start of the French National Championships in Limoges the week after her funeral. Each season since the French swim community has found a way of remembering Camille.
So it will be with Kobe Bryant in the USA. Tributes poured in from every quarter, this from Katie Ledecky a touching reminder of the inspiration Bryant brought to the Olympic realm, the image including Allison Schmitt, Muffat’s great rival at London 2012, where the American claimed gold in the 200m, Muffat the silver, the order reversed over 400m:
USA Swimming‘s tweet reminded us of the light Bryant brought to proceedings at the Golden Goggles and on other visits to the world of water, with images with Michael Phelps, who collected 23 golds in an Olympic world that gave Bryant two golds too, and Ledecky:
Barack Obama‘s tweet summed up the feelings of many:
Bryant was a man who inspired others to reach out for their own dreams, to harness and hone their own skills, rio know how to overcome in realms far beyond the one in which he excelled.
Here are 10 inspirational quotes from Kobe Bryant
On success:
“When you make a choice and say, ‘Come hell or high water, I am going to be this,‘ then you should not be surprised when you are that. It should not be something that is intoxicating or out of character because you have seen this moment for so long that … when that moment comes, of course it is here because it has been here the whole time, because it has been [in your mind] the whole time.“
Source: Showtime’s “Muse”
On failure:
“When we are saying this cannot be accomplished, this cannot be done, then we are short-changing ourselves. My brain, it cannot process failure. It will not process failure. Because if I have to sit there and face myself and tell myself, ‚You’re a failure,‘ I think that is a worse, that is almost worse than death.“
Source: Showtime’s “Muse”
On casting fear of failure aside:
“I don’t mean to sound cavalier when I say that, but never. It’s basketball. I’ve practiced and practiced and played so many times. There’s nothing truly to be afraid of, when you think about it … Because I’ve failed before, and I woke up the next morning, and I’m OK. People say bad things about you in the paper on Monday, and then on Wednesday, you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. I’ve seen that cycle, so why would I be nervous about it happening?“
Source: ESPN
On leadership:
“Leadership is lonely … I’m not going to be afraid of confrontation to get us to where we need to go. There’s a big misconception where people thinking winning or success comes from everybody putting their arms around each other and singing kumbaya and patting them on the back when they mess up, and that’s just not reality. If you are going to be a leader, you are not going to please everybody. You have to hold people accountable. Even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable.“
Source: NBA TV
On the power of visualisation for rehab after injury
“Reality gives nothing back and nor should you. Time to move on and focus on doing everything in your power to prepare for surgery, ask all the questions to be sure you understand fully the procedure so that you may visualize it in your subconscious while being operated on and better the chance of it’s success. Then focus on the recovery process day by day by day. It’s a long journey but if you focus on the mini milestones along the way you will find beauty in the struggle of doing simple things that prior to this injury were taken for granted. This will also mean that when you return you will have a new perspective. You will be so appreciative of being able to stand, walk, run that you will train harder than you ever have. You see the belief within you grow with each mini milestone and you will come back a better player for it.“
Source: Instagram – his advice to Gordon Hayward
On the way up (straight from high school to the NBA):
“I want to learn how to become the best basketball player in the world. And if I’m going to learn that, I gotta learn from the best. Kids go to school to be doctors or lawyers, so forth and so on and that’s where they study. My place to study is from the best.“
Source: Showtime’s “Muse”
On what ‘work’ means
“I never looked at [basketball] as work. I didn’t realize it was work until my first year in the NBA. When I came around, I was surrounded by other professionals and I thought basketball was going to be everything to them and it wasn’t. And I was like, ‚This is different.‘ I thought everybody was so obsessive about the game like me. It was like, no? Oh, that’s hard work. I get it now.“
Source: ESPN
On making sacrifices:
“There’s a choice that we have to make as people, as individuals. If you want to be great at something there is a choice you have to make. We can all be masters at our craft, but you have to make a choice. What I mean by that is, there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that – family time, hanging out with your friends, being a great friend. being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with that.“
Source: Showtime’s “Muse”
On his first championship victory:
“I can remember winning the first championship and kind of being like, ‚Okay, now what? What happens now?‘ … [Teammates] celebrating, waving champagne bottles around … And outside of that, it was, ‚Okay, now what?'”
Source: Showtime’s “Muse”
On the end of his basketball career:
“There is beauty in that. I mean, it’s going through the cycle. I mean, it’s the cycle that is the natural progression of growth, of maturation. I mean, there’s no sadness in that … I see the beauty in not being able to blow past defenders anymore, you know what I mean? I see the beauty in getting up in the morning and being in pain because I know all the hard work that it took to get to this point. So, I’m not, I’m not sad about it. I’m very appreciative of what I’ve had.“
Source: Showtime’s “Muse”