Showing posts with label Kobe Bryant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kobe Bryant. Show all posts

Saturday, April 04, 2020

Kobe Bryant posthumously elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Kobe Bryant, a five-time NBA champion and the fourth all-time leading scorer in league history, has been posthumously elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

The 18-time NBA All-Star played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning the league MVP once and the finals MVP twice. He also captured two Olympic gold medals.

"It's (an) incredible accomplishment and honor," Bryant's widow, Vanessa, told ESPN. "We're extremely proud of him. Obviously, we wish he was here with us to celebrate. "But it's definitely the peak of his NBA career and every accomplishment he had as an athlete was a stepping stone to being here."

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss said in a statement, "No amount of words can fully describe what Kobe Bryant meant to the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe was not only a proven winner and a champion, he gave everything he had to the game of basketball. His fierce competitiveness, work ethic and drive were unmatched.

"Those qualities helped Kobe lead us to five titles -- and have now brought him to the Hall of Fame, where he will be enshrined with the greatest to have ever played the game. No one deserves it more."

Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Tamika Catchings are among other notable ball players going into the Hall of Fame.

[SOURCE: CNN]

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Barack Obama remembers Kobe Bryant in speech to NBA All-Stars

Former President Barack Obama spoke at the NBA's All-Star Weekend Newsmaker Brunch in Chicago Saturday. During his speech he took the time to reflect on the death of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant.

NBA All Star Game MVP trophy named after Kobe Bryant

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced today that the Kia NBA All-Star Game MVP Award has been permanently named for the late Kobe Bryant, an 18-time All-Star who won a record-tying four All-Star Game MVP awards.

The Kia NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant MVP Award will be presented on Sunday, Feb. 16 at the conclusion of the 2020 NBA All-Star Game in Chicago, where the league is celebrating the lives of Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people who tragically passed away in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26.

“Kobe Bryant is synonymous with NBA All-Star and embodies the spirit of this global celebration of our game,” said Silver. “He always relished the opportunity to compete with the best of the best and perform at the highest level for millions of fans around the world.”Bryant made his NBA All-Star Game debut in 1998 at age 19 – the youngest player to ever play in an All-Star Game. That appearance marked the first of his 18 All-Star selections, second most in NBA history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19). Bryant holds the NBA record for consecutive All-Star selections as he was honored 18 straight times from 1998-2016.

Bryant was named the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 2002, 2007, 2009 (co-winner with Shaquille O’Neal) and 2011. The only other player to win four NBA All-Star Game MVP awards is Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Pettit.

A five-time NBA champion, Bryant played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He earned the 2007-08 Kia NBA MVP Award, two Bill Russell Finals MVP awards and 15 All-NBA Team selections. Bryant ranks fourth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 33,643 points.

The winner of the 2020 Kia NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant MVP Award will be determined by NBA fans (who account for 25% of the vote) and a media panel (75% of the vote). This is the 10thstraight year that Kia will serve as the title partner of the NBA All-Star Game MVP Award.

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Kobe Bryant Memorial Ceremony: Too Big for the Staples Center

Plans for a public Kobe Bryant memorial ceremony are underway. While no official details of the date or location have been confirmed yet, one issue was apparently raised at a meeting to make arrangements for the event: while the Staples Center, known as the “House that Kobe Built,” is the intuitive place to stage the ceremony, it may simply not be large enough to accommodate the outpouring of public grief that organizers are anticipating.

TMZ reports that the L.A. Memorial Coliseum appears to be under consideration as a venue. The Coliseum is able to hold 80,000 people in the stands, and the surrounding parks could be used for overflow if needed. The Staples Center, by contrast, only holds 20,000 spectators inside. The TMZ post says that the Rose Bowl was brought up as a possibility, but while the capacity is larger, it seems the plan is to keep the event within the city of Los Angeles, rather than ask mourners to travel out to Pasadena.

In April, Staples hosted the public memorial service of slain rapper Nipsey Hussle. Tickets to attend the event were distributed within minutes of becoming available, and crowds spilled out into the L.A. Live plaza for hours.

[SOURCE: LAMAG]

Monday, January 27, 2020

Laker great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar responds to death of Kobe Bryant

Laker great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar released the following statement and video on the death of Kobe Bryant:

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Barack Obama statement on the death of Kobe Bryant

Former United States President Barack Obama released the following statement on the death of Kobe Bryant:

Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act. To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day.

Shaquille O’Neal statement on death oh Kobe Bryant

Shaquille O’Neal tweeted a statement on the death of his longtime Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant who was killed in a California helicopter crash:

There are no words to express the pain I’m going through now with this tragic and sad moment of loosing my neice Gigi & my friend, my brother, my partner in winning championships, my dude and my homie. I love you and you will be missed. My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW!

Friday, March 28, 2014

Kobe Bryant is a hypocrite for his comments on Miami Heat supporting Trayvon Martin

I'm going to be very honest with you. When I first read Kobe Bryant's comments on the Miami Heat photo in support of Trayvon Martin and his family my first thought was something real profound and thoughtful. F*CK KOBE!

I was mad because Kobe should know that the photo of the Miami Heat was taken when the public was asking that George ( I beat women ) Zimmerman be arrested. The photo was not taken after the verdict in the case. The Heat were only asking for due process to take place not saying that Zimmerman was guilty. And unlike Kobe they were taking a public stand on a social situation which Kobe would never due for fear of f*cking up his money.

Here's what Kobe said:

I won’t react to something just because I’m supposed to, because I’m an African-American,” he said. “That argument doesn’t make any sense to me. So we want to advance as a society and a culture, but, say, if something happens to an African-American we immediately come to his defense? Yet you want to talk about how far we’ve progressed as a society? Well, we’ve progressed as a society, then don’t jump to somebody’s defense just because they’re African-American. You sit and you listen to the facts just like you would in any other situation, right? So I won’t assert myself.”

Now Kobe is entitled to his opinion but he should think before he opens his mouth. You see it seems that Kobe has forgotten his own little rape case back in 2003. When he was accused of rape in Colorado many people rushed to his defense. In truth many didn't know if he was innocent or guilty but many thought the rape charges were an attempt to railroad him as a black man.

Now understand something. Kobe was never that big in the African American community because he came off like an a**hole that would sell you out first opportunity he got ( see Shaq ). And even with that many African American's still rushed to his defense.

I guess that Kobe has forgotten that. I didn't hear him telling African Americans to get their facts first before defending him. He ran "home" again just like OJ Simpson and Michael Jackson did when they got in trouble.

This makes Kobe Bryant a hypocrite. So that brings me back to my original thought after reading Kobe's comments.

F*CK KOBE!