NEW ORLEANS — I was speaking with my mom in New York yesterday. In half English, half Vietnamese, she asked me if I heard that Kobe Bryant died. I said I did. Then we started talking about the people in our family that had died too soon, and in that conversation, I got a better understanding of how a loss like this often forces people to reflect on their own lives.
In his last game in New Orleans, fans gave Kobe Bryant a standing ovation. We appreciated his talents, even if we couldn't relate to his celebrity life. But most of us can relate to losing a loved one. In that sobering reality, we're reminded of the human inside the icon, and that can bring us all closer.
"I'm 53 years old. I've dealt with a lot of death in my time," said Brian Shaw.
Brian Shaw, a former teammate of Bryant's.
"My family died in a car accident. One of the things that kept me going is the fact that while we were here, we lived, and we made a lot of memories together. And when they're gone, that's all that you have, are the memories that you make, that you made while they were here," Shaw said as he was fighting back tears on NBA-TV.
Jerry West, the former general manager of the Lakers, and the man who brought Bryant to the team at the age of 17, reflected on the loss of Bryant.
"The only thing I can compare it to, is that I had a brother that was killed in Korea," said West on ESPN.
You don't have to know basketball to understand these emotions. You don't have to know Bryant's excellence on the court to understand his family's anguish in losing him and his eldest daughter, Gianna. If sports are a window into life, then this is a loss many share.
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