The Perspective of the Mamba Through My Eyes

This was a guy I hated as a child. He always found a way to crush my hopes and dreams with who I wanted to win the championship. I know he made me cry during the ENTIRE 2000-2002 3peat. I hated his cockiness, his will to win, his KILLER INSTINCT. When the Lakers' lost the championship in 2004, I thought his reign of terror on the NBA was over. Boy, was I wrong. He became a MONSTER. 30, 40, 50, 60, 81 points in a game! He became the villain of the league, and he loved it! It became scary to watch him dominate the league the way he did. I was happy because he wasn't winning though. He makes the playoffs as a #7 seed and plays against the Suns. I can still remember the play like it was yesterday. Jump ball goes to the Lakers, and who else but Kobe gets it. "Don't let him get to the elbow! Make him shoot the 3!". I'm sure Raja Bell and Boris Diaw knew this, just like the entire world did, but it did not matter. 3,2,1, Kobe gets to the elbow and shoots the shot. I know once it leaves his hands that it's good, I just pray that God can finally not show Kobe mercy and let him make the shot (Yes, I know it was childish to pray to God for Kobe to fail sometimes, but he ignored my cries anyways). I fall to the floor in disbelief just like I had for many years previous to this moment because of Kobe's greatness. I can't believe he did it again. I have to go to school and hear it from all of my friends how great Kobe is. The Lakers' lose that series, but somehow make it to the finals in 2008 against the Celtics. I never liked the Celtics, but I rooting like crazy for Kobe to lose. He does, and I am ecstatic again! But little did I know that he would come back and win the championship in 2009. He breaks my heart again, punishing the inexperienced Orlando Magic. Kobe was a man on a mission, and no one would stop him from achieving his ultimate goal. He now has 4 rings, I can't continue to discount his greatness. I finally have to give Kobe his well-earned credit. "Kobe is great, but he's no Jordan", I would say. The 2010 season comes around, and once again the Lakers' are in the finals against the Celtics. The Celtics win game 5, and I am preparing my "Kobe lost yet again in the finals" speech for all of the fans that I know, but yet again he proves me wrong. They win game 6 and now it's on to game 7. I almost lost my job trying to pay attention to the game. I have to know exactly when the game is over so that I can send out my "Kobe sucks" texts. I was never able to send them out. Greatness prevails YET AGAIN. I'm sick! He has 5 rings now. He's as close to MJ as anyone will ever be. He's the greatest of my generation now. I couldn't deny it any longer, and that is when I finally accepted it. 2011 is the year of the 3-peat, but they lose to the Thunder in the playoffs. For the first time in my life, I wasn't happy about Kobe losing. Over the next couple of years, between bad management deals and injuries, we were robbed of Kobe's final years being great. He passes his way into the playoffs in 2012 (the year he tears his Achilles carrying the weight of that bad team. He was averaging 10 assists for a couple of games if I'm not mistaken). He then passes MJ for 3rd on the all-time scoring list a couple of years later in Minnesota. His final act was April 13, 2016. A 60-point masterpiece! And this was the day that it all finally hit me. No more would number 24 be able to break my heart with clutch basket after clutch basket. No more would I have to pray to God that he would make Kobe miss a shot. No more would I have to watch the camera zoom in to the eyes of the mamba with that killer look in his eye. Kobe was the greatness of my generation, but he worked his butt off to become great. After he retired, I started to hear him talk on podcasts about his work ethic and his mindset. It intrigued me to know that he was always working harder than the next person, that he was known to not only try to get a physical advantage on an opponent, he also wanted a mental advantage as well. As I sit here today writing this, I can only think of one thing to say to Kobe, and that is thank-you. Thank- you for breaking my heart time and time again. Thank-you for making the NBA a better place than it was when you first entered the league in 1996. Thank-you for showing us what hard work looks like and the rewards that it can bring. Last but not least, thank-you for showing us the #MambaMantality. 

-Conspiracy God