Globe Live Media, Monday, January 25, 2021

It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. That phrase hangs on my fridge for a few years in order to give meaning to the ups and downs of life when it moves away from what it creates or dreamed of. Kobe pronounced it, it is one of the mantras of the Mamba Mentality: get motivated, work harder and harder than anyone else, try to be the best and along the way, learn things and appreciate them. It is really difficult to apply when you do not get what you want and the discomfort comes. But Kobe didn’t stop, which in those moments became giant.

Another of the phrases that stands out in the fridge, long before January 26, 2020, is I can do all things… (I am capable of everything). It is also from Kobe, it is another of his vital mottos and his legacy proves he was right, that he could accomplish anything he set his mind to, because he fought it more than anyone. It wasn’t a matter of talent, that it existed, but it never would have gotten him this far. He knew how to exploit that aspect in which he was truly superior to the rest and that today marks the new generations: determination. The giant Bryant appears again. It’s amazing that trying to emulate a guy who’s dead is more obsessed with young talents than those who wear rings. Although those who win rings now have Kobe tattooed on their legs and, seen like that, it makes sense.

There is a third trait of Bryant, his infinite curiosity, which is extraordinary. It becomes giant again. That exhausted curiosity was what allowed him to leave the NBA in peace, laugh at himself, assume that it will not reach 6 rings and not suffer for it, forgive the lack of recognition in the form of awards, the loss in the sixth against Boston, the sticks, the Achilles tendon (who ended up giving him an Oscar), the trips to Colorado, the turbulence of his marriage, the estrangement with his parents, The Jordan comparison, Shaq’s pounds, the 4 a.m. workouts, Phil Jackson’s dedicated books, the referees, the stinging ESPN reports, the missed shots … He always said that he left in peace, that he had given everything for the game and that he had nothing to blame himself for. This is also very difficult. Close such a big door and not have the need to look back.

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He found new paths, with which he was motivated as much or more as with the NBA: his facet as a writer, podcasts, children’s books, cinema, family, his daughters, train gianna, the women’s teams, the WNBA. The mantra was the same: be his best version. He was traveling by helicopter because he didn’t have time, he explained, to attend to so many passions and a year ago, all those dreams were blown up and there is no way to find the Mamba Mentality in this, although the ’24’ has left clues.

It has been a traumatic year in many ways And the disaster could be said to have started that January 26, the day that many of us broke our hearts. The months have not put it back together. To whom it happens, and from what I read and see, legion, this prolonged reaction is surprising. It was not someone from the family, there was no personal treatment, it should not hurt so much or have caused so many tears. In part it must be because, as a fan, it is difficult to assume the death of such a lively idol, that you expected to see dressed again on a court, even if it was the ‘All Star Celebrity Game’, and of course training a team with options, or perhaps helping to raise the WNBA at the height of the NBA.

Outside of the league, of basketball, many were also learning that Bryant was a different beingcapable of anything and contagious in his sick obsession with pursuing goals. Pursuing, which is not the same as getting. The Mamba Mentality is entering.

What would Kobe do in these circumstances. The answer is clear and, in fact, it is recorded. Anyone can find what he thought of life: “It’s short, take advantage of it.” Or death: “I have a comfortable relationship with her.” Or how to overcome something like: “Don’t waste time regretting yourself, keep going, enjoy.” Things that help in these times of very open wound: the enormous respect that is perceived for his figure, his lunatic and comical passion for almost everything, the reports, the videos, the games, the League, the Memories.

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