Twenty.

20 Years.

20 Years seems to be a long journey to achieve, but time has its own wings.

Just incase you haven’t known, Kobe announced his retirement from the basketball floor last December. Ever since then, he’s been saying goodbye to arenas one after the other.

He was just 17 years old when he was drafted. If you think of it, that is I N S A N E. A 17 year old boy, with his basketball dream coming true STRAIGHT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL.

Kobe played 20 glorious seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. He racked in 5 championships, one shy from The Great Michael Jordan.

I admired Kobe.

He was more than a basketball hero to me. He displayed constant fearlessness, no matter what the situation was. You could be double his height, but you could be damn sure that he will go after you. He will put you on the floor and keep you there. He went through every single obstacle. Dislocated finger? He’d pop it right back and drain a contested-three with the other hand, while falling out of bounds.

He would ask for the ball, with the game on the line even when he was just a rookie and much like every single great athlete in the history books, he failed. Shot. after. shot. But he rose from failure. He rose because of his work ethic, his determination, his passion for the game. Tell me, how come every time you nail a shot, whether it’s in basketball or in beer pong or simply just by throwing something in the trash, you confidently say: “KOBE”. It’s because YOU know that in all of the amazing shots ever recorded in the NBA, for the past two decades KOBE was a great part of them.

Who shot that game winner again?
–KOBE.

Who dunked on Dwight?
–KOBE.

Who dropped 81 on the Raptors back in January 2006?
–KOBE BRYANT.

He was great. Great in all of the aspects of the game.

It’s heartbreaking to see that he will be playing one final game. A game that he STRONGLY loved.
But there’s that cliché: ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END.

So before I put on your jersey for one last time,

Thank you. For all of the memories you gave me.
Thank you. For showing me that no matter the occasion, BE COMPETITIVE.
Thank you. For creating moves that I would enjoy mimicking on the hardwood floors.
Thank you. For being an inspiration in life itself. You showed that despite of everything that life throws at you, there’s always a way to get up and fight back even harder.

I never got the chance to see you play. But that’s okay because you left me with a lifetime of memories and life lessons.

Thank you very much for 20 years of pure greatness.

I hope that you enjoy the life after basketball.

Farewell,
just some kid on the internet.