From winning five National Basketball Association championships to making kids everywhere scream “Kobe!” whenever they shoot, the late Kobe Bryant built himself an excellent reputation throughout his Hall of Fame career whose impact still continues to affect PHS.

Bryant first played basketball in Reiti, Italy when he was three years old. Because Bryant’s father played basketball professionally in Italy, his life always involved basketball. After 14 years in Italy, Bryant moved back to the United States and enrolled in the Lower Merion High School where he became a national star, averaging 30 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists as a senior while leading his team to win a state championship. His astounding play during the championship garnered the attention of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Throughout the 20 years Bryant played in the NBA, Bryant won a multitude of awards including 18 All-Star selections, 15 All-NBA selections, 12 All-Defensive team selections, an MVP award, and two NBA Finals MVPs. He is considered by many to be one of the best basketball players of his era.

“He has zero flaws offensively. Zero. You backed off of him, he could shoot the three. You body him up a little bit, he can go around you. He could shoot the mid-range. He could post. He could make free throws,” said four-time MVP LeBron James. “That’s something I admired, just being at a point where the defense would always be at bay where they couldn’t guard you at all...”

Bryant’s former teammate and NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal believes that Bryant’s work ethic led to his continuous success, citing that even when not given playing time he would pretend to shoot around without a ball.

“We’re all just looking like, ‘What is this kid doing?’” O’Neal said. “Full speed, sweating, just pump-faking and moving around without a ball. Talking to himself like, ‘You can’t guard me!’ Just talking to himself.”

Players all over the league were in shock after Bryant died in a helicopter crash on January 26. That day, individuals around the world lost a role model. He motivated and inspired kids to play basketball through his ruthless mentality and greatness.

“I started playing ball because of KOBE after watching the 2010 finals,” NBA All-Star Joel Embiid tweeted. “I had never watched ball before that and that final was the turning point of my life. I WANTED TO BE LIKE KOBE.”

After his death, many top athletes from different sports paid tribute to Bryant. This included the entire NBA with all the teams playing that day committing both a 24-second shot clock violation and an eight-second backcourt violation representing Bryant’s jersey numbers of 24 and eight. The National Football League followed suit with a moment of silence in honor of his death during their Pro Bowl match. In the game, defensive plays and touchdowns were celebrated with basketball moves in honor of the late shooting guard.

Being a huge soccer and tennis fan, Bryant supported and mentored athletes from different sports around the world, ensuring his influence could be felt outside of American sports as well.

“He has been one of the greatest sportsmen in history, so he deserves a round of big applause,” Rafael Nadal, the current second best tennis player in the world, said. “He always wanted more, he always wanted to increase his level, and he has been a true inspiration for the world of sport.”

PHS students were also affected by Bryant’s passing, with many in shock at the tragedy that occured to a role model they had looked up to their whole lives.

“I was really sad, actually. When I first heard it I was like, no way, but then after confirming I was heated about it and then I got sad thinking about the impact he had on the game,” said Timothy Evidente ’21, starting point guard for the men’s varsity team. “He’s one of the greatest of all time and he pushes me to do better every day. I feel motivated to do better and take aspects of his games and attempt to bring them to me. I was distraught about it [but] we can’t really [quantify] the impact he had.”

Brian Frost ’20, fellow member of the varsity team, shares similar sentiments of not only being shocked but also inspired after Bryant’s death.

“I remember I was really shell shocked when I first heard the news ... on a personal level, [I] just [realized] how precious time is and how much the people around you matter, and [how] it translates to the team because we have a lot of seniors on this team and it’s our last go around. It kinda [reminded us to] make sure this season was as best as possible and there’s only a few games left and we need to do our best in every [game].”

Shooting guard for the men’s varsity team Jackson Petrone’s ’22 style of play was directly influenced by Bryant’s passing.

“His leadership impacted everyone in the world... Especially [my game], he gave me motivation to play ... I copied a couple of his moves, spin moves, between the legs but I [feel like I] can’t use [those moves] anymore because it’s like he’s not alive anymore.”