A Boston Celtics fan’s guide to remembering Kobe Bryant

Tragedy struck Sunday morning as Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others, died in an unforeseen helicopter accident. Today, we look at ways in which Boston Celtics fans can remember the NBA Legend.

January 26th will now forever be synonymous with tragedy for NBA fans, as basketball legend Kobe Bryant, along with his daughter Gianna Maria Onore and seven others, died in a helicopter crash early Sunday morning in Calabasas, California. The Boston Celtics, along with several other NBA team’s paid tribute to the late shooting guard by purposely committing 24-second shot-clock violations upon their game’s initial tip in honor of the number 24 he wore for the final 10-years of his career.

Bryant played 20 seasons in the NBA — all with the Los Angeles Lakers — and proved himself as being one of the greatest all-around players the league has ever seen. He was an 18x All-Star (second most selections in NBA history), a 5x NBA champion, a 2x Finals MVP and an NBA MVP (2008).

An enemy… the enemy, and he loved it

To Celtics fans, he was an enemy… the enemy, and that’s exactly how he liked it. Often, he publicly took pride in his involvement in the historic rivalry between the two storied franchises.

He shared that when he was a kid growing up in Italy, the only NBA games televised in the area were Boston v. L.A.

"“I grew up on Lakers and Celtics. When I was growing up in Italy there were no NBA games on, nothing was global, so all you could watch was Celtics and the Lakers, and that whole rivalry.”"

A student of the game

Despite his allegiance to the Lakers, he did not shy away from expressing love for the Boston Celtics franchise, specifically for the iconic players that had once donned the green & white threads.

"“I was very surprised. Watching the Celtics taught me so much about the game. I mean, I studied Bird religiously, I studied D.J. religiously. Russell, Cousy, Jo Jo, I mean I watched those guys (on tape).”"

The spark to the 2000’s Celtics/ Lakers rivalry

He is directly responsible for reigniting the spark to this traditionally historic rivalry in the early 2000’s. In 2008, Bryant’s Lakers squared off against the big-3 era Celtics of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

Despite averaging an impressive 25.7 points per game, the shamrocks downing Bryant and co. in six games, giving the franchise championship #17 (most in league history) and their first since 1986.

Reinvented by the 2008 Finals loss

Bryant admitted in the years following the series loss that it completely changed his perspective on basketball and, inherently, made him a better leader.

"“Michael gave me some really good advice after the ’08 Finals: ‘You got all the tools. You gotta figure out how to get these guys to that next level to win that championship.’ Going into the 2010 series, I said, ‘Listen, Boston, they got Ray Allen, they got Paul Pierce, they got [Kevin] Garnett, they got Sheed [Wallace], the talent is there. They’re stacked.’That was the first superteam. [Michael] kind of heard me lament about it, and he just goes, ‘Yeah, well, it is what it is; you gotta figure it out. There’s no other alternative.”"

Heading into the 2008-09 season, Bryant was hell-bent on proving he was capable of getting over “the hump” as his team’s leader. He would wind up attaining his first Larry O’brien trophy sans Shaquille O’Neal, and received the honor of Finals MVP along the way.

A determined man and a flat-out winner

2009-10 saw a rematch against the Boston Celtics, only this time, he came in with more determination, passion and experience than he did two seasons prior. While boasting averages of 28.6 points, eight boards, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game Kobe was able to exact revenge on the C’s, beating the franchise in seven hard-fought games and received his second consecutive Finals MVP award.

"“I’ll put it to you this way — if I lost that championship, I’d be miserable. I’d be absolutely miserable,” Bryant told the LA Times when discussing how deeply the 2008 Finals loss tormented him."

A competitor against Boston

Aside from their two bouts in the NBA Finals, Bryant squared off against Boston a total of 44 times — including the postseason — and accumulated 1097 points (24.9 points per game) on 41.5% shooting from the field.

Kobe Bryant leaves behind a legacy that will forever be cherished and never forgotten.

Was he one of the biggest rivals to the Boston Celtics we’ve seen in the last 20+ years?

Absolutely!

Still, to say fans didn’t appreciate watching the man compete against their favorite NBA franchise would be ludicrous. He was one of the best players to ever grace the hardwood, and was a joy to watch throughout his entire 20-year-career.

Saying goodbye to an icon

With a heavy heart, a quivering lower lip and tear stained eyes we here at the Houdini want to say thank you Mr. Bryant for all that you brought to life during your 41-years.

A great player and, more importantly, man has been taken from us far too soon. We send our thoughts and condolences to the Bryant family, as well as all others who were impacted by Sunday’s tragic events.

From your rim-rattling finishes to your picture-perfect shooting form; your pesky defensive play to your ever-famous competitive fire, your presence will forever be missed within the NBA world.

“Dear Basketball” will never be watched without a Kleenex again.

#MambaForever