Four years ago on April 13, 2016, Kobe Bryant retired at the conclusion of the 2015-16 NBA season with the Los Angeles Lakers after scoring 60 points.
In the greatest career finale in professional sports history, Bryant made many clutch shots down the stretch en route to a 101-96 win over the Utah Jazz.
As most athletes usually struggle in retirement, Bryant was able to make up for lost time with his family while building Kobe Inc. and Granity Studios.
Unfortunately, Bryant, his daughter Gianna Bryant, and seven other passengers tragically lost their lives heading to a basketball game on Jan. 26.
On the four-year anniversary of Bryant’s final game, Vanessa Bryant mourned her husband’s short retirement in a heartbreaking post, via Instagram:
With the tragedy happening nearly three months ago, everyone associated with Bryant is still struggling with it. After 20 seasons with the Lakers, the 41 year old had so much to give to his wife and four daughters in retirement.
Since Bryant’s death, he was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and his latest book is No. 1 on the New York Times Best Sellers list.