"Forever Mamba" - NFL community pays its respect to Kobe Bryant's legacy two years since NBA legend's passing

"Forever Mamba" - NFL community pays its respects to Kobe Bryant's legacy on the two year anniversary of the NBA legend's passing

By Ian Van Roy

Modified Nov 08, 2022 11:49 GMT

A mural in honor of Gigi and Kobe Bryant (plus tweets from Russell Wilson and lokitahernandez)

Today marks two full years since Kobe Bryant breathed his last. The Laker was in a fatal helicopter crash which left him and eight others dead, according to USA Today. According to ESPN, the basketball player died immediately upon impact.

His death affected every corner of the country, including the NFL. Two years later, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson posted a tweet that led to an outpouring of support. Here's what NFL fans had to say about his legacy on the second anniversary of his death.

NFL fans react to the second anniversary of Kobe Bryant's death

This fan's birthday will forever be marked by the basketball player's death. For the fan, it will be tough to separate the two forever.

This fan reminds the world that the former Laker wasn't the only Bryant on the helicopter that day.

This fan kept it simple, but also posted an old inspirational video of him telling people to go after their dreams, despite the nay-sayers.

Kobe Bryant played for the Lakers from 1996-2015. He finished his career averaging 25 points per game, making 44.7 percent of his shots, and nearly 33 percent of three-point attempts. Number 24 won five total championships in his 20-year career.

According to ESPN, in his final game, he led the Lakers on a comeback over the Utah Jazz, winning 101-96. He made 22-50 shots, 6-21 three-point attempts, and 10 of 12 free throws. Overall, he scored 60 total points.

After his retirement, it took LeBron James to spurn the team to their next playoff spot. In typical James fashion, the team won the Finals in 2020. However, from his retirement after the 2015-2016 season until the 2019-2020 season, the Lakers failed to make the playoffs each year.

Without James' arrival, the team likely would have continued to struggle in the Black Mamba's absence. Will the Lakers repeat as champions? At 24-24, the Lakers are not out of it, but they have work to do.

About the author

Ian brings with him more than 6.5 years of sports writing experience to the Sportskeeda NFL team. He played offensive line in middle school and high school, and also made it to the top 0% matchmaking ranking in MUT play in Madden.

He possesses the quality of identifying unique story angles from quotes in press conferences, social media and interviews. He assimilates facts for his stories with a lawyer-like precision and verifies each and every piece of information.

Ian admires Peyton Manning for his ability to beat teams with his mind despite not being the best athlete, and is also a fan of Tom Brady. The Denver Broncos are his favorite team, and their Super Bowl 50 win in Manning’s last game is etched in his memory forever. Bill Belichick is his all-time favorite coach.

He has also grown to admire the Los Angeles Rams mainly because he and Cooper Kupp went to the same college, Eastern Washington University, with both finishing their college careers at the same time.

In his career so far, Ian has had the privilege of exclusively interviewing Los Angeles Rams General Manager Les Snead, Kwity Paye of the Indianpolis Colts and Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jamari Thrash. When not writing, he likes to play video games and be outdoors.

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