During The Garden Island water-cooler discussions we have regularly about sports, reporter Dennis Fujimoto provides the type of insight that can only come from great reporters.
When TGI paginator Paul Curtis, myself and Fujimoto discussed the Kobe Bryant tragedy, Fujimoto mentioned the fact that several island kids on the island are named after the great basketball legend.
It is difficult to write about his life posthumously. Bryant was a member of five NBA championship teams, a two-time NBA Finals MVP and an 18-time NBA All-Star among many of his other accolades achieved in his storied NBA career.
Straight outta
high school
Bryant, who was part of the now-historic NBA draft class of 1996-97, was in the second wave of players coming out of high school straight into the pros.
Bryant was drafted a year after Kevin Garnett became only the second player taken in the NBA draft out of high school since Moses Malone,who was the first drafted by the American Basketball Association with the Utah Stars. Garnett became the fith overall selection by the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 1994-95 NBA draft straight from Chicago’s Farragut Academy.
A year later, Bryant, along with then-Portland Trailblazer star Jermaine O’Neal, were both first-round selections in what is now considered one of the most historic draft classes in modern-day NBA history in 1996-97.
Although this is debatable, Bryant wasn’t even the most highly-touted player in the ‘96-97 draft class.
There was a guy selected out of Georgetown nicknamed “The Answer,” and the only man to ever embarrass former Chicago Bulls’ player Micheal Jordan with a killer ankle-breaking crossover. His name was Allen Iverson.
A history lesson
Some forget that Bryant’s 20-year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers almost never happened.
Bryant, initially selected 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets, was from Lower Marion High School and the son of former NBA star and European professional basketball star Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, was traded to the Lakers for former Yugoslavian basketball legend Vlade Divac.
The Lakers dumped their star center in a strategic move to acquire both Shaquille O’Neal and get a young and developing NBA superstar like Bryant as the precursor to creating one of the best NBA teams of all time.
The rest of his on-the-court success, as they say, almost wrote itself, as things went according to their prescribed pattern, and the Lakers created one of the most historic dynasties in the history of basketball.
What’s in a name?
It is essential to provide some historical reference to one of the greatest players and teams of all time for the many island kids who carry his name and can now develop a deeper connection to their namesake.
Many of the kids who carry his name but never got to see him play basketball outside of YouTube footage can now develop an additional historical perspective on how their name came to be.
It’s essential to maintain a historical perspective.
Bryant’s father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, whose playing career spanned from 1975 to 1992, named his son after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which they saw on a menu.
In 1999, according to statistics provided by babycenter.com, there were 42 million babies named for Kobe Bryant.
Talk about extending your legacy that will last far beyond your playing days.
Bryant, whose eldest daughter Gianna also passed away in Sunday’s helicopter crash in California, will always leave his legacy not only on the court but with so many of the kids who carry his name long after.
His name and his professional legacy will carry on for decades after the last time he laced up a pair of sneakers. In some ways, the personal connection many developed with his name extends way farther than the hardwood, and makes him a long-lasting icon.
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Jason Blasco, sports reporter, can be reached at 652-2229 or jblasco@thegardenisland.com.
