MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Local 24) — A day after the passing of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, some of his fellow athletes are remembering all he did for the game both on and off the court.
“Kobe was going into his best life,” University of Memphis head men’s basketball coach and former NBA All-Star Penny Hardaway told Local 24 (Memphis) Sports Director Doc Holliday. “He was just about to start doing better work with his daughter, AAU, and different people he was gonna touch in a different way.”
It was a pattern his colleagues noticed in Bryant post-retirement: the same intensity as his playing days, but in the present time, using that energy to better others.
“When he was competing, he was always ‘stay away'”, Hardaway said. “And then to be able to give himself up and his time up as he retired … it was a beautiful thing to see.”
Hardaway was a teammate with Shaquille O’Neal, who later won three NBA titles alongside Bryant, on the Orlando Magic in the 1990s.