Kobe Bryant is an incredible basketball player, athlete, and person. He grew up in Philadelphia and Italy and played basketball all his life. In the 1996 NBA draft, the Charlotte Hornets selected him 13th overall but traded him to the Lakers almost immediately. Kobe Bryant played for the Lakers until he retired in 2016. He then died in a helicopter crash on January 26th, 2024. I believe that Kobe Bryant was great due to his work ethic, loyalty, and leadership. First of all, Kobe Bryant has an extraordinary work ethic. He worked so hard that he was able to create and spread the idea of his mentality, the “Mamba Mentality”. This mentality was displayed when John Celestand, a former teammate of Bryant’s, said that he “was always the first player in the gym, even when he was injured.” …show more content…
He says Kobe's the only one to have done the work." Michael Jordan is considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and is one of Kobe Bryant’s biggest idols. For him to get that kind of praise from someone of such high stature means you must’ve done something right. For this reason, I believe that this is another example of Kobe Bryant’s incredible work ethic. Secondly, Kobe Bryant was very loyal to those he was close to. An example of this is his relationship with his former NBA team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe Bryant and a former teammate of his, Shaquille O’Neal, were the two main stars that created the Lakers Dynasty of the late ‘90s and early 00’s. Even though the two shared several feuds, Kobe stayed with the Lakers because he was just that loyal. This shows that Kobe Bryant can fight through adversity and stay with the team he was with for his whole career because of his character. Another example of his loyalty is the complicated relationship between him, his wife, and his