Kobe entered America’s hearts in 1996 at the tender age of seventeen when he was drafted into the NBA shortly after finishing high school. Kobe Bryant was first drafted by the Charlotte Hornets, but was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Lakers thus sparking the fire that burned within him for the remainder of his basketball career. Kobe’s legacy began at the 1997 slam dunk contest in which he conquered the winning title. At that moment, America knew we were witnessing the birth of something great; a basketball prodigy in it of itself, thus inhibiting Kobe to receive 20 years worth of accolades with the the 5 NBA Titles he earned being the most prevalent. “The Black Mamba,” as they would call Kobe, would gain many comparisons to the great Michael Jordan over the years, despite the fact the he strived to be better than the legend himself. We witnessed his drive each and every time he touched the court, no matter what the circumstance,and every night in a different city you saw the love the passion to be the best.He may not have had the most game-winning shots throughout his career, however, he was blessed with killer instinct. His teammates knew that if they only needed a single basket, or were down by 15, they could put the ball in “The Black Mambas” hands and lead them to victory without a doubt. Although Kobe had the heart and the mindset of a leader, his leadership skills didn’t come into play until after the Lakers acquired 3 championships with Shaq, thus granting him the opportunity to lead his team to two more championships. Although Kobe Bryant made winning appear easy, he admitted that the 2010 finals game against the Boston Celtics was the mostmeaningful Championship when asked by TNT NBA Broadcaster Ernie Johnson. Kobe went up against Future Hall of Famers Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. Kobe also faced would he would call the toughest defender he has ever been guarded by, Tony Allen. Despite all of the challenges be faced at that present moment, he persevered and led his team to victory, making himmore remarkable than he had ever been. America was fortunate enough to watch Bryant for over 20 seasons, and we have seen a lot of arguably the greatest basketball ever, by arguably the greatest player, however, the last few seasons presented the slow demise of Kobe’s groundbreaking career due to various injuries he obtained. As a fan of greatness, I am happy that Kobe is retiring simply because the “bad” version of Kobe isn’t what i’d like to see or remember; I'd much rather envision all of the great things he achieved on the court, and he made it all possible throughout the duration of his career. Thank you Black Mamba. You will be missed.