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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Howard chapter.

Kobe Bryant passed away alongside his daughter Gianna Bryant in a fatal helicopter crash on Sunday, January 26th. 

As we all mourn Kobe Bryant’s death, it is only right to remember his accomplishments in his 41 years of life. In 1996, Kobe Bryant was the round 1, 13th pick in the NBA draft. Where he was drafted to the Charlotte Hornets. Immediately following the draft, he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers where he began his 20 year career. 

Bryant’s career accomplishments include being ranked 4th on the all-time scoring list (33,643), he was a 2-time NBA Finals MVP, he made an appearance at the NBA Finals 7 times, he won 5 NBA championships, and he made an appearance on the NBA all-star team 18 times. 

Bryant was influential on and off the court. Off the court, Bryant was influential across the world. In addition to his countless community service projects across the world, Kobe was the owner of the Mamba Sports Academy (est. 2018), where he trained children to play with a “Mamba Mentality”. 

It is safe to say that Bryant was a family man. He had four daughters and a wife, Vanessa Bryant, that he had known since he was 20-years-old. He  coached his daughter, Gianna’s travel basketball team. His oldest daughter, Natalia played volleyball for the Mamba Volleyball club (est. 2018) and she is predicted to play in college. He nurtured and cared for his wife and daughters like no other. 

Bryant always put his daughters first, and it showed how much of a positive influence he had on their lives, especially Gianna who aspired to play in the WNBA and carry on her father’s legacy. She was trained and coached by her father and although she was her own person, she mimicked the fade away of her father. She was truly daddy’s little girl, and will forever be remembered as Mambacita. 

Source: Fox43

“You can’t stop people from trying to limit your dreams, but you can stop it from becoming a reality. Your dreams are up to you. I encourage you to always be curious, always seek out the things you love, and always work hard once you find it.” – Kobe Bryant 

 

Makailah A. Gause is a sophomore Broadcast Journalism major/ Sports Administration minor from Atlanta, Georgia. She aspires to be a sports or entertainment reporter. Her dream project is to cover the olympics. In addition to being the Chief Editor for Her Campus Howard, Makailah is apart of Spotlight Network, she is a member of the National Association of Black Journalist at Howard University, and runs her own mentorship organization, B.E.S.T. You. During her free-time she enjoys writing, vlogging on her YouTube Channel, doing community service, and spending quality time with her friends and family.
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Deni Dedmon is a sophomore speech-language pathology major from Albany, GA. Her first love was writing but her second love was helping others, which led to her choosing a career in speech pathology. When it comes to her writing, she loves to write about everything, from entertainment (she’s an avid Kehlani fan) to book reviews (she’s been reading since the age of one) to controversial topics and current events (ya know, your average angry black girl things). Being the oldest of five girls, she is also passionate about young black girls, their self-esteem, and making sure that they’re proud of being who they are. At the age of seventeen, she became a contributor for MTV Founders and a spring writer for Affinity Magazine.