Yelling ‘Kobe’ after you shoot your water bottle into the recycling bin will never be the same. Earlier this week, a legend died far too young. On the morning of Sunday, Jan. 26, NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his thirteen year old daughter Gianna Bryant were killed in a helicopter crash. In total, nine people were killed in the accident.

Kobe Bryant died all too young, with such a life ahead of him. In fact, he was only starting to embark on the next chapter of his life. Even with his twenty-year basketball career, he was just forty-one years old with a wife and four daughters. Kobe was the epitome of how to achieve legendary status on and off the court.

Kobe Bryant was husband to Vanessa Bryant, and father to seven-month old Capri Bryant, three-year old Bianka Bryant, seventeen-year old Natalia Bryant, and thirteen-year old Gianna Bryant, who was also killed in the accident. Kobe and Gianna were on their way to Gianna’s AAU Basketball game when the helicopter crashed.

Kobe passed away being number four on the all time NBA scoring list. Lebron James had passed him for the number three spot just the night before Bryant passed away. Kobe Bryant finished his career with 33,643 points. Coming into the NBA straight out of high school, Kobe played a remarkable twenty years in the NBA. With 2020 being Bryant’s first eligible year to be inducted into the Hall of fame. It’s only a matter of time until we hear his name down the road in Springfield, Massachusetts, as it is almost inevitable that Kobe Bryant will be inducted into the hall of fame this year.

Bryant was drafted thirteenth overall in the 1996 NBA draft to the Los Angeles Lakers. The pick was originally to the Charlotte Hornets, who traded the pick in return for center Vlade Divac.

Bryant racked up an 81-point game in 2006 against the Toronto Raptors. Not only this, but Bryant has almost every accomplishment possible in the game of basketball. After being drafted in 1996, Bryant went on to appear in seven NBA Finals, win five NBA championships, two-time NBA Finals MVP, eighteen-time NBA All Star, four-time NBA All Star game MVP, and gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. Bryant also won an academy award in 2018 for “Best Animated Short Film.” Bryant had done it all while on the court, but it was his efforts off of the court that make him that much more special.

It is without question that Kobe Bryant was one of the best to ever play basketball, but it’s not all about what he did on the court. It’s about what Bryant did outside of the sport: for the community, for others, for the world. Bryant was outgoing, always willing to help others and do everything he could to make the world a better place. It was these qualities that made Kobe who he was.

For everything we knew about Kobe Bryant, the second half of his life was still a mystery; a mystery that will never be solved and forever mourned. Kobe and Vanessa Bryant created a foundation called the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation(KVBFF). The KVBFF was established to help the lives of youth and families in need, both in and out of the United States. Everything Bryant did was for the community.

This mentality carried onto the court as well. “I’ll do whatever it takes to win games,” Bryant said. “Whether it’s sitting on the bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate or hitting the game-winning shot.” These were the famous words once said by Kobe Bryant that emulate exactly who he was, on and off the court.

If the death of such a legend and his wonderful daughter can teach us anything, it’s to never take one moment in life for granted. Cherish the good, learn from the bad and live everyday to the fullest, because you never know when your final day will come.

Rest in peace to a legend, Kobe Bryant. 1978-2020.