To start, here’s what I shared on my Facebook page this morning:

“Today marks the last game of the greatest basketball player in the world. Kobe has been with the Lakers since I was four years old and I've known since day one that he was the greatest to have ever played - and I will argue it until the day I die. Thank you Kobe for teaching the sports world drive, strength, and most of all - passion. The passion this man has for basketball is unlike anything else, the world could use a little more passion and a little less of all the other bullshit.

Love him or hate him, he's a phenomenal player and there is NO denying it.

Congratulations on 20 years KB thanks for being the reason that basketball is the sport I love the most. From repping #24 my whole life to constantly arguing my life away on the subject... Kobe is da bomb and I'll miss the black mamba out on the court! ‪#‎MambaDay”

I’m obviously a Kobe fan. I’ve loved him since I was a kid, and I’ve loved the Lakers since my Uncle won me a Lakers ball from some carnival type game when I was ten. If you want to call me a bandwagoner, blame it on 10 year old me who thought gold and purple were pretty together – and then started following the team religiously. Although there are plenty of people who think it’s silly to idolize celebrities, I am NOT one of those people. I appreciate the hard work and the constant scrutiny that celebrities are under at all times.

Tonight is the end of an era, Kobe Bryant will be playing his last game in the NBA, for a franchise that he has been a part of for 20 seasons. 20FREAKINGYEARS. This is crazy. KB has played more seasons and games with one team than any other player in NBA history. He has never strayed from the Lakers, he has never been traded or negotiated a deal with other teams. This strikes me as such a feat is because TWENTY YEARS is a REALLY long time. For any job, held in any position, that’s a career. And Kobe Bryant has been PLAYING, PRACTICING, SHOOTING, RUNNING, JUMPING, DEFENDING, on that grind for TWENTY seasons for the Lakers. And that, to me, is the raddest thing ever.

One thing that I have always seen and admired in Kobe is his passion. There is something about watching someone who has had millions of moments on a basketball court, and still being able to see that passion in his eyes for the game.  If you have never seen “Kobe Bryant’s Muse” I suggest you watch it. Even if you don’t like sports, or Kobe, or TV… Just watch the movie. It’s incredible. The way that he talks about basketball is the exact way that every single person should feel about SOMETHING in their life. Passion is one of the most important things that is lacking from our culture these days. Everyone’s living for the money, the likes, or the fame… when what people really should be living for is passion. What are you passionate about? Pursue it.

Kobe taught me how to play ball. Okay not literally. I can’t dunk and I never even made it to college ball, but that’s not the point. Watching #24 play basketball, MADE me want to play basketball. I grew up watching him and yes I’m not a 6’6 superstar, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t plan to be when I was younger. I’ve been taller than almost every friend I’ve ever had (s/o to Tori I see you) and because of this, I was drawn to basketball at a young age – because what else is an 11 year old Amazonian woman going to do with her time, really? Watching the way that Kobe sees the court and utilizes the open space of the court always inspired me. I could go on about basketball all night. But the point is, Kobe is fun to watch, he's a technically sound player, he's a ridiculous scoring threat, and he's a snake on the court. He’s an AMAZING ball player and kids and adults alike have cheered for him (or booed him) because of his skills on the court.

What lessons Kobe taught me: 

I could literally write about the Black Mamba for days, but I need to get off the computer so I can watch Kobe’s very last 48 minutes while balling my eyes out. I’ll never forget why I wore the #24 throughout my entire basketball “career”, why I bought Kobe’s shoes for my senior year, why the three games I saw in person made my whole life, and why I’ve defended him in more arguments than I can count. But all of my fan-girling aside… I want to say thank you to Kobe, for the years of entertainment and for being the GREATEST OF ALL TIME.