Since his shocking, sad death Sunday, the accolades for Kobe Bryant have poured in, non-stop, much like the way he scored baskets, starring for the rival Los Angeles Lakers. What Bryant did on a basketball court, for so long – averaging 25 points a game for 20 seasons – merits prolonged applause. His team averaged an NBA championship every four years while he was in uniform, the last of the five coming in 2010, beating the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game 7. He was truly one of the NBA's greatest players.
All that and more explains the overwhelming coverage of Bryant's death, at the age of 41. Bryant was one of nine people killed, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
