--- title: Kobe’s Basketball Greatness Made Him a Hero to So Many Kids description: What happens when a child's sports hero dies? David French on his son's love of Kobe Bryant and what it means to lose him. canonical: https://time.com/5772449/kobe-bryant-childs-hero-dies/ author: David French article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-01-27T17:20:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T08:52:14.757Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Kobe’s Basketball Greatness Made Him a Hero to So Many Kids og:description: What happens when a child's sports hero dies? David French on his son's love for Kobe Bryant og:url: https://time.com/5772449/kobe-bryant-childs-hero-dies/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa973fa285196b98/698a095ab3fce33ed80c63c8/kobe-bryant-memorial.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: Former Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant dies in helicopter crash, USA - 26 Jan 2020 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kobe’s Basketball Greatness Made Him a Hero to So Many Kids twitter:description: What happens when a child's sports hero dies? David French on his son's love for Kobe Bryant twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa973fa285196b98/698a095ab3fce33ed80c63c8/kobe-bryant-memorial.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Kobe’s Basketball Greatness Made Him a Hero to So Many Kids. What Happens When a Child’s Hero Dies? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=b1736574-dd4b-4f90-8aa5-cdbab27a7144&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A Free Lesson With: Kobe Bryant [Watch (HLS stream): A Free Lesson With: Kobe Bryant](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IJ5zvA8w.m3u8) (7:36)  _Published 2009-03-05. L.A. Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant gives TIME's Sean Gregory some tips for a pickup game_  by [David French](https://time.com/author/david-french/)  ## David French Jan 27, 2020 5:20 PM UTC L.A. Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant gives TIME's Sean Gregory some tips for a pickup game  by [David French](https://time.com/author/david-french/)  ## David French Jan 27, 2020 5:20 PM UTC When I watched the coverage of [Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s death](https://time.com/5771909/kobe-bryant-dead/), amidst the primary grief I felt for Kobe’s wife, his surviving children, and the people who knew him and loved him, there were a series of images that brought even more tears to my eyes. It was the kids lined up outside the Staples Center. Some of them were dressed head-to-toe in Lakers gear. Virtually all were wearing Kobe’s jersey. I looked at them and saw my own son. I was transported back to a magical night on November 11, 2014\. We live in Tennessee, not too far from Memphis, and Kobe’s Lakers were coming to Beale Street to play the Grizzlies. We didn’t know how many more opportunities we’d have to see Kobe play, so I splurged and bought tickets the row behind the Grizzlies bench. My son brought a friend, another Kobe fan, and I’ve never seen two kids more excited – or more decked out in Lakers gear. They’d even fashioned Lakers capes out of Lakers flags. NBA basketball is often a more personal game than the other major American sports. In baseball and football, even the closest seats are some distance from the action. In basketball, you can be sometimes inches away from the world’s greatest athletes. Throughout the night, Grizzlies stars Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph talked to my son and his friend, good-naturedly giving them a hard time for rooting for Kobe. Then, late in the game, Kobe saw them – in all their ridiculous Lakers finery – he broke his game face for just a moment and smiled. If you’re a parent, chances are you know what it’s like when your kid finds a hero. Channeled properly, it’s a source of true joy. Go to the games together, and you create those moments that bond families. I once read advice that I’ve never forgotten – when spending money with your family, don’t purchase things. Purchase shared experiences. And on that night, we had an experience that will stay with us forever. But those shared experiences don’t have to cost money. From fall to summer, for year after year, the question that so often started dinner was a simple, “Does Kobe play tonight?” If the answer was yes, we were spending family time, together. The phones were sidelined. Homework sometimes took a backseat. Those moments were part of the fabric of our lives. When we played basketball, when my son ducked past me to score, or when he hit a fadeaway over my outstretched hand, I’d hear the shout – the same shout heard on asphalt courts across the land – “Kobe!” There are a lot of good reasons to worry about our celebrity culture. We lavish attention bordering on obsession on our biggest stars. But it’s also true that true excellence can be a gift to a nation and a culture. It’s a privilege to watch a great athlete at the top of his game. It’s a joy to see an artist perform at the peak of her talents. And, make no mistake, it was a [privilege to watch Kobe](https://time.com/5771924/kobe-bryant-obituary/). To describe him as a good steward of his considerable gifts is to give him far too little credit. He brought a ferocious energy to the court. He carried that ferocious energy into a will to improve, to drive himself to match or possibly even exceed the game’s greats. To put it another way, Kobe upheld his end of the bargain. The kids in the Kobe jerseys gave him their love, and he gave them everything he had. And as he poured his heart and soul out on the hardwood, the bond was sealed. As Kobe got older, his growth was unmistakable. He was a leader in the cohort of NBA stars who put their families front and center. Kobe’s fans started to see Kobe as a husband and father. My son knew his daughters’ names. His friends knew their names. And after Kobe retired, the pictures of him on the sideline with Gianna went viral – and not just with sentimental parents. Kobe’s life was messy and complicated. There were hard questions to ask and hard conversations to have about [a terrible night in Colorado](https://nypost.com/2020/01/26/sexual-assault-claim-marked-kobe-bryants-darkest-episode/). And parents shouldn’t shy away from the tough conversations about the man behind the jersey. But most lives have a direction, and the direction of Kobe’s life was clear. The explosion of grief tells its own story. And he had so much more to do. While he never quite reached Jordan’s greatness on the court, he was poised to outshine Jordan in his retirement. He won an Oscar. He was an enormous presence in the game. He showcased an intellect that was miles beyond mere “basketball brilliant.” And kids still wore his jersey. He was still their hero, almost four years after his incredible, 60-point final game. And now he’s gone. I called my son last night. He’s a freshman at the University of Tennessee. He was numb, still in a state of disbelief. He told me he was wearing Kobe’s jersey and wearing his Lakers jacket. He got both of them this past Christmas. New Kobe gifts, even now. His grief, and the grief of millions of Americans like him is but a pale shadow of the immense pain felt by a suffering wife and daughters, but it is – in its own way – a final tribute to the man who gave them so much joy. _Want a print of TIME’s commemorative Kobe Bryant cover? Find it_ [_here_](https://www.timecoverstore.com/kobe-bryant-1978-2020-2020-02-10?linkId=81315661)_._ ## Transcript >> Hi. I'm Sean Gregory from TIME. com. And we are here at Southern Nazarene University outside Oklahoma City, with Kobe Bryant who's in town with the Lakers who are playing the Oklahoman City Thunder tomorrow. And we're gonna get a free basketball lesson with Kobe Bryant. Kobe, thanks a lot of doing this. >> My pleasure. >> So, let's start with basic shooting form. >> Well, first of all, I start with the grip. I like to have my-- my fingers normally in the seams. So, you get your thumb right here in the seam. This way, you have a good grip on the ball, keep the ball in your fingertips. You're gonna be able to have that space. You don't wanna be able to-- you won't have to shoot the ball, you know, in your palm. >> Right. >> And what I do with this arm here, I normally keep my thumb in between-- it's just a comfort thing for me. And so, the important thing is to find-- to find a grip that's comfortable to you. And then, once you elevate it, muscle almost pretty much right here. This is where I'm comfortable with. And as a kid, I used to try to do this and that. But it just wasn't comfortable to me. So, this is a position that's most comfortable to me. It's almost like an " L ," but not really. >> Right. It's [ unk ] back a little bit. >> Right. Right. I mean, the difficulty that I have at shooting is a lot of times, my head moves, which then throws the balance of the shot off, so you know, if you-- even if I'm shooting a twist and fade away, or a free throw or a three- point shot, I like to keep my head straight because that's the balance. >> Could you just walk me through some jab steps. And everybody can just flow by people. So, you got to use some footwork. >> Thing about footwork is you don't have to be, you know, fast or quick. But what you-- what you have to do is you have to sell the fake, you know. So, for example, if I'm-- defender is guarding me, you know, I'll set it up the first time. If he's close to me, I'll just blow mine, I just go right. I just, you know, you just use this foot where you try to get to the outside of this foot, and just go right behind. >> All right. So-- >> Okay. >> it's-- so, you wanna blow by. >> You have to attack that. >> Right. >> You have to attack that foot, make him drop, then go right to the basket. >> You're attacking the foot 'cause as the defender, if you attack my foot, I kinda like stop or-- >> Well, it's-- I mean, you gotta be a really good-- really good defense player to be able to drop that foot and then cut somebody off, you know. So that next time, he knows I've already done that. So now, I could fake. And now, I could go. So now, you've got the defender in a quandary now. You know, he doesn't know. You can drive left, you can drive right, you can pull up a shoot. So, then, that's when you travel. You sell that fake, that jump shot fake. Defender raises up just a little bit, and now, you can go with the right or you can go left, you know. So, it's like-- almost like a-- it's like chess kinda. You-- each move sets up the next move. >> Do you ever [ unk ] like help coming over and like half right? >> All the time. All the time. Because that's when I'm working my pull- up jump shot, you know. 'Cause now, you beat the defender, oh, here comes the help. You know, you gotta shoot that pull- up-- pull- up jump shot or the double team's coming here, you spin here. >> A pull- up jump shot, perfect segway. It's the law start in basketball. >> Right. >> Everybody-- every announcer says back in the 70 and the 80s, they all can do [ unk ] jumper. >> Right. >> It's hard to do. >> Now, the science of it really is this-- you wanna be on balance once you're going up. After that, you know, you may fake, you might do whatever. But going up, you wanna be able to have a firm base, and pivoting here with this leg here and get in the strong base here. Now, once you elevate, now you can fake. Feel like, oh, I'm doing-- so this is your left going there to your strong hand. I'm doing going right. >> Okay. >> So, when I'm coming here as the defender, this is what you're seeing. You're seeing this right here as the defender. So now, I'm taking it from here. >> Okay. >> I'm raising up and shooting that shot. >> That's a cue. It's protecting the ball from your-- >> Yeah. >> kinda plant in your foot. >> You have to. >> You got to protect. I can-- >> You have to. >> I can just grab. >> Especially when you got little guys on you. Because they will get up in there and try to take it from you, you know. So, you gotta protect it, the way you're going to shoot right over the top of them. >> Foul shooting. Kobe against the Knicks went 21 for 21, 22 for 22, and you scored 61 at the Garden, the Garden record. Just what are you thinking of? Do you take the same amount of dribbles every time? You know, Mark Jackson used to, you know shift the rim or something like-- do something like that. >> Yeah. >> What's your kinda-- what's your routine? >> Oh, it is-- I'm walking through my routine right now. A lot of times, my hands get dry. This course of the game, it's tough to feel the ball. So, a lot of times, you see me either blow my hands, or I'll get some sweat from my forehead, dry my hands off just slightly. The ref would throw me the ball. Once I catch it, I'll roll it out, take a breath, I'll settle here. One, two, three. Square here. Keep your head steady. >> Follow through. >> Follow through. >> When you follow through, your other hand is kinda straight up. I mean, your off hand. >> You know what? I always use the off hand as like, as a guide, really. It's like a, you know, it's-- I use it to aim. >> What are you looking at when you're guarding somebody? Talk me through what you're kind of-- what your-- mentality >> Well, I played to hit some-- my opponent's weaknesses. >> Okay. >> Obviously. It's like your left hand. So, I'd probably sit inside here and get this hand inside here, you know. So, it's a little trick for the Weekend Warriors over there. >> Trick. Trick. You like trick. >> Once this guy makes his move with his right hand, what you try to do is you try to pin this arm. See this-- see this arm right here? It's a strong hand. You pin this 'cause you know he's inevitably gonna come back to his strong hand, right? So now, when he makes that move, now, you can't come back while he's trying to cross over. Uh- oh. And ball pops out. That ball pops out because you pin that, you take away his strength. >> Right. >> Right here. You get up inside of him. >> Uh- oh. >> Yeah. Out of control. >> Uh- oh. >> How do you do that without getting a foul call? >> Huh? >> How do you do that without getting a foul call? >> It's so-- it's too fast. >> It's too fast. >> It's so quick. >> And the-- >> Absolutely quick, you know. You're in here, it's the-- this guy here. >> Yeah. Right. >> So, once he goes, right, now, I sit in his pocket here, and I won't let him-- I won't let him come back. So when he comes back, he's coming right back to me, and I could steal that ball. And we're off. >> How do you tune out trash talk or heckling? I mean, how do you, you know, kind of all the stuff going around-- >> You get in character. Like the game we played the Knicks. I won't even talk to anybody. And I wasn't-- I wasn't gonna say hello to Spike, I wasn't gonna say hello to my man, Jay Z, you know. I just wasn't in the mood. I didn't wanna hear anything, I was in my moat, my focus. I wasn't gonna let anybody break that. Basketball, a lot of times, it's-- has to do with the emotional space that you can put yourself in. And that particular game, I was in one of those moods. I mean, you know, a couple of Knick guys would come up to me during the game and say hello as we've done in the past, and I just ignore them 'cause I just-- I, you know, I was in my zone. And I didn't want anything, you know, outside of that taking me out of it. >> You know, we've come through a lot. Any other tips for-- >> Have fun. Have-- oh, and stretch. >> Stretch? >> Stretch. >> Really? >> Stretch. >> 'Cause you know, some people-- you grow up, you know-- >> Stretch. You better stretch. My dad still plays basketball now. And the hardest part is not actually playing, it's getting up in the morning the next day. That's the hardest part for him. Got to stretch. >> Anything else? >> Have fun. See you when I see you. >> My [ unk ] broke, don't fix it. Uh- oh. Excuse me. Oh. Come here. I see that's talking trash. >> Yeah. >> That's talking trash. When you try to play, you can do none about it. >> No. >> Take-- give me your hand. Give me your hand. Give me your hand. >> Hook shot. >> Oh, don't reach, don't reach. Don't reach. Oh. Excuse me. >> All right. Kobe, I really-- >> Very welcome, man. >> Thanks a lot for the lessons. >> Hope that helps you out a little bit. >> Hope so, too. Thanks. Sure will. Good luck. >> Thank you. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5772449/kobe-bryant-childs-hero-dies/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5772449/kobe-bryant-childs-hero-dies/"},"headline":"Kobe’s Basketball Greatness Made Him a Hero to So Many Kids. What Happens When a Child’s Hero Dies?","datePublished":"2020-01-27T17:20:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-14T08:52:14.757Z","description":"What happens when a child's sports hero dies? 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