The news itself was shocking. And to learn that Gianna passed was heartbreaking. Thinking about how Vanessa has to grieve the loss of her love in her husband along with the loss of her daughter while also mothering three children through what could be the most challenging bend in their life had me speechless.

Like someone else said, Kobe's career and ascent was hand-in-hand with my own and other's maturity from childhood into adulthood. It was fun to see the brash, over-confident rook, break into realizing his outlandish goal to be one the best to ever play. As a Lakers' fan his success was even sweeter to take part in.

As he aged and his youthful daring soured a bit from failure and career disappointment, it mirrored my own awkward steps away the zeal young people have towards life when entering their twenties and the cynicism and saltiness that comes from life pushing back against growth.

I won't talk about his case, but it was the gauntlet that set up his true heroism and transition from villain to champion, not only professionally but in his personal life.

Without it, he's likely not able to humble himself to fully dedicate to his family, or at least not as quickly. And professionally he wouldn't have been as flexible to take a talented but untested team to two championships which cemented him as an all-time great.

He was able to transform from someone who overlooked all of life in the pursuits of greatness and found that greatness can be minding all of the details up to the accomplishment, especially those moments with loved ones. That's something I've tried to pattern my life after.

My favorite memory of Kobe the basketball player wasn't actually a game he performed well. It was the Game 7 of the '10 Finals. He almost shot the team out of the game through three quarters. In his defense, no one outside of Metta played well.

But his steady play, deference to Metta when he had it going, and willingness to do everything else besides score that night really spoke to me about how much winning a championship was to him. He was willing to sacrifice his numbers, and glory, to reach the teams, and his end goal.

It was heartening to see him age into retirement as well as he progressed as a basketball player during his career. His success gives me a sense that the second half of life can yield new moments of success and actualization.

It's odd to think that someone who is one of the top fifteen players to play in what is probably the most exclusive sports league in history didn't have a chance to fully tap their potential, but I think Kobe didn't seem to view reality and its challenges in the same way that causes many of us seem to. He saw a mountain and thought, 'Why not?' I mean he won an Oscar before he was 40 and his Detail show on ESPN+ is truly original and one of a kind. Who's to say that with another ten or fifteen years that he would have truly found his voice as a filmmaker and artist? He could have had an equally impactful period of time touching the lives and motivating others as he did in his playing career.

He also was a notable champion for women's basketball. He featured Diana Turasi on an episode of Detail and tweeting many complimentary tweets to great and notable players who are women. It would have been interesting to see how he would have repped women's basketball given that Gianna was apparently talented. Part of me wonders if he would have served as Commissioner of the WNBA.

Hearing the tributes from not only across the basketball world and the nation but the world, is heartening. A Facebook friend of mine who lives in the UK and doesn't seem to be an NBA fan posted stories from a random religious zine about Kobe's Catholicism and how he leaned on his faith while navigating his trial in Colorado.

Not to get political and I'm clearly not saying anything new, but there's so much pulling cultures and nations apart and to revere someone, a Black man at that, and their additions to culture, isn't worth overlooking to me. Also, to hear folks talk, Dan LeBatard in particular, say that they called friends and family to make peace with them reflects how even in death Kobe's legacy calls us to be better people.

Back to Kobe the human being, it's tough to think about how his passing is going to affect his children and now widowed wife. Thankfully, his children will have access to the best care available and hopefully will get counsel about the best and most productive ways to handle their grief. I hope they can tap into the tenacity and strength their father and husband displayed through his time with them.

Seeing him pass is a hard break in life's rhythm. It's unfair and unnecessarily harsh. It's another mark on the timeline that childhood and its joys have ended. But I think that helps us recall how special those times were and what a gift they were.