Sunday, Aug. 23 marks what would've been Kobe Bryant‘s 42nd birthday. It has been eight months since his passing, but no one has truly been able to recover from the passing of the Los Angeles Lakers legend back in January. While NBA teams are in heated playoff battles, the memory of Kobe Bryant doesn't fade. Before their Game 4, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers and Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle were asked about the passing of Bryant.
“It brought up sad memories, honestly,” Doc Rivers said. “I think we're supposed to, as humans, rejoice in life, but it's still — I think it's still pretty raw for all of us, you know? And being reminded of it [is tough]. I saw on NBA TV today, Brian Shaw, they replayed that day and that moment, I'll never forget that day for the rest of my life. So, he was a special guy, obviously a great player, it was just such a sad thing, so I don't think we've all recovered from that yet.”
Bryant's life was taken on the morning on Jan. 26, along with his daughter Gianna, and seven other passengers. They were in a helicopter on the way to the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks.
The feeling of losing Bryant far too soon hasn't even begun to subside, as shown by the outpouring of love he receives on a daily basis from players, coaches, fans, and even media.
“Oh my goodness,” Rick Carlisle said when it was brought to his attention that Sunday marked Bryant's birthday. “There are so many memories. I mean, the emotions of when that happened and talking about all the recollections, memories, recent interactions that I had with him, that he had with certain guys on our team including Luka, it stokes so many different emotions.”
Carlisle and the Mavs took down Bryant's Lakers and ended their hopes of a three-peat during the 2011 postseason.
“The No. 1 thing for me was how he pushed the game and pushed the people that he competed with to a higher level all the time, and if you didn’t meet or exceed that level he was going to beat you. That to me was probably the greatest part of his legacy but there are so many other things. So many other things. The images of him and Gigi and their special relationship and the relationship he had with his girls and his family and all that. There are tragic things to remember. You want to try to frame the positive things and all the good things that were going on in his life before this tragedy.”
Bryant's memory lives on in countless NBA superstars in today's game, from Trae Young and Jayson Tatum to Kyrie Irving and LeBron James.
Bryant finished his NBA career as a five-time NBA champion with the Lakers, a two-time NBA Finals MVP, the 2007-08 MVP, an 18-time All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA player, and a two-time scoring champion.
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