January 26th represents the unfortunate year anniversary of the passing of Kobe and Gianna Bryant. News of the tragedy shook the not only the basketball world, but the entire world of pop culture. As someone who grew up in suburban Los Angeles, Kobe was a larger than life figure. It seems only right to remember his greatest moments and shots during his brilliant career.
The first moment is my personal favorite Kobe moment. His game winner over the Suns in the 2006 playoffs is a moment I will share with my dad and grandfather forever. It also gave birth to the fantastic fist pump meme still prevalent on Twitter today.
The next moment that sticks out in my life is his 81 point game against the Toronto Raptors. I was six years old when this happened and I remember clear as day getting to stay up past my bedtime because he scored 27 in the third quarter. This all time great performance cemented Jalen Rose as a meme for getting burnt so bad that night. His reverse dunk is one of my favorite highlights in basketball history.
Another one of the best Kobe memories growing up was his game winner over Dwayne Wade in 2009. This bank shot was so memorable that I went to school that Monday and spend all of recess trying to recreate it. It is one of the more improbable shots you will ever see.
Lastly, I think all of us can share a favorite moment in his last game. On that night in 2016, he became the oldest player to score 60 points in an NBA game. He did this while leading a double digit comeback on national TV with the eyes of the sports world watching him. He followed that up with saying goodbye a way only he could, “Mamba out”.
