Throughout his 20-year Hall-of-Fame career, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant had many mesmerizing moments, leaving fans in utter disbelief. The 18-time All-Star put on countless shows against the other 29 teams he faced during his career, including moments that left the opponent’s fans shaking their hands.
Wednesday signaled Bryant’s 39th birthday, and athletes, fans and organizations from different areas all paid homage to his stellar career. Bryant, along with his alter ego the “Black Mamba”, is recognized as one of the premier offensive talents to ever wear an NBA jersey.
The NBA decided to celebrate Bryant’s birthday by posting a video dedicated to his best play against the other 29 teams, with game-winners, dunks, and dazzling assists. Plays such as Kobe’s game-winner over LeBron James and his dunk over three Brooklyn Nets defenders made the list, demonstrating how versatile his offensive arsenal was during his career.
Bryant retired as the Lakers franchise leader in games, minutes played, steals, field goals, free throws and win shares, amongst other categories. Both Magic Johnson and Jeanie Buss have referred to Bryant as the greatest Lakers player of all-time, alluding to the impact he had while staying with the organization for 20 seasons.
After celebrating his birthday on Wednesday, Thursday also signals “Mamba Day”, falling on Aug. 24 because Bryant wore No. 8 and 24 jerseys in his career. While Bryant remains invested in his post-retirement adventures and Kobe Inc., he has also remained busy with his ties to Nike. The Kobe A.D. Nike five-shoe collection released on Thursday, with each sneaker resembling how to channel every person’s inner ‘Mamba Mentality’.
The video celebrating his spectacular plays are just the bare surface to the versatility Bryant had during his career. The highlight reel also alludes to the dominance that Bryant portrayed, celebrating a career that will go down in the record books.