47 years old! Some people are still alive after they die. Why is Kobe so unforgettable today?

August 23, 1978-August 23, 2025 (local time in the United States), Kobe Bryant celebrated his 47th birthday.

Although Kobe Bryant left us forever in a helicopter accident on January 27, 2020, there were actually three "deaths".

The first time is a person's heartbeat and breathing stop, and his physiological function and autonomous consciousness are completely lost. This is his death in the biological sense.

The second time was when a person's body was buried. As the funeral ended, the crowd dispersed, which was his social death.

The third death refers to a person being forgotten by the last person who remembers him, and the individual disappears completely in history, which represents a person's death in the cultural sense.

As the poet Zang Kejia wrote in "Some People" to commemorate the 13th anniversary of Lu Xun's death: "Some people die, but they are still alive" - ​​from the perspective and level of cultural heritage, they are actually still alive.

So, when someone asks you again, is Kobe dead?

As long as someone has not forgotten him, he still exists in the cultural and spiritual heritage. Then there is no doubt that today, Kobe and his Mamba spirit still exist vividly deep in each of us.

Why is Kobe so memorable from the perspective of cultural heritage?

At four o'clock in the morning, in Los Angeles, diligence, perseverance, and tenacity, this is the most precious lesson he left to us.

"Those times when you wake up early, those times when you stay up late and work hard, those times when you feel too tired and want to give up but still grit your teeth and persevere, that is the power of dreams. Don't care what's in the end, enjoy the process of the journey. Even if you fail to realize your dreams in the end, there will be some great things in this process that will accompany you and benefit for the rest of your life."

Kobe is not a talented person who is at the peak of his debut in the NBA. On the contrary, he can make up for his shortcomings with diligence and become one of the most comprehensive people in NBA history.

In the 1996 draft, high school student Kobe was not selected until the 13th pick. Iverson, Camby, Marbury, Ray Allen, Danpier and Potapanko were all more favorable than him. This is true. Rookie Kobe averaged only 7.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 41.7%. G5 made four three-pointers in the Western Conference semi-finals in the 1997 playoffs, and his talent, ability and basic skills were not enough to achieve big games.

"That night, it was already three or four o'clock in the morning when I returned to Los Angeles. I went to a high school near my home and shot 24 hours a day. Countless people watched me because of a few three-way sticks."

Kobe's growth and progress are no secret. He gets up day after day, year after year and trains hard, "If you don't have talent, then repeat it."

Kobe averaged 37.9 minutes per game in the third grade, averaging 19.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, and his three-point shooting percentage was only 26.7%; in comparison, James averaged 31.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game, and Doncic averaged 27.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game - it can be seen that Kobe is not the most talented player. He did not average 25 points per game for the first time in his fifth season of his career.

During the training camp in Las Vegas in 2008, "We went to a nightclub together. When we returned to the hotel, it was almost 5:30 or 6:00. Kobe had already practiced soaked!"

Kobe was selected for the Best Team for fifteen consecutive years, and was firmly ranked in the Best Team at the age of 27-34, and was still the best team shooting guard in the league at the age of 34. It was not that he was very talented, but that he had made great efforts, hard work, perseverance and tenacity.

NBA has never lacked scorers. Iverson, McGrady, Carter and Kobe are known as the "Four ScoreBacks", but Kobe's career has achieved the highest level among the four. Solid his skills and making up for shortcomings are one of the important reasons for Kobe's success.

Kobe was selected into the Best Defensive Team 12 times in his career, including 3 second teams and 9 times the Best Defensive Team!

In the 1999-00 season, the 21-year-old Kobe was selected for the Best Defensive Team for the first time in his career, and it is understandable that he is young and good in physical fitness; in the 2010-11 season, the 32-year-old Kobe was selected for the Best Defensive Team for the ninth time in his career - spanning 11 years, his defense has remained at the top level in the league.

In the 2005-11 season, Kobe was selected for the Best Defensive Team for six consecutive years, and also scored 2 scoring champions, 1 regular season MVP, and averaged at least 25.3 points per game for six consecutive years. The player who can defend the opponent's best defense, the player who can defend the opponent's best attack, was selected into the NBA's best team even at the age of 34 in the 2012-13 season. This is Kobe Bryant's concentration, endless offense and defense, and continued the oppression of his entire career!

Not only defense, he polished himself to the extreme in his offensive skills.

In the 1998 All-Star Game, Kobe asked Jordan how to observe the defender's position when attacking from behind. After that, he publicly stated in an interview: "I did steal all of Michael Jordan's skills."

His three-pointers were not outstanding in the early stages of his career. His average three-point shooting percentage was only 25.0% (0.4/1.7) in the sixth season, and his output and efficiency were not ideal. In the offseason in 2002, he focused on polishing three-pointers, and his average three-point shooting percentage soared to 38.3% (1.5/4.0) in the 2002-03 season, and his efficiency and output changed qualitatively. He made great efforts in his career with three-pointers to break through the 30-point mark for the first time.

After the Lakers were defeated by the Celtics in the 2008 Finals, Kobe asked Olajuwon for his dream steps to improve his back-playing skills in the offseason. Among Olajuwon's many disciples (Howard, James, Yao Ming, Anthony, Kobe), Dameng praised Kobe as a player who truly mastered the essence of his footsteps and could really make a name for himself!

Integrate offense and defense, learn independently, make up for shortcomings, and are infinitely close to the greatest basketball player Michael Jordan. This is due to Kobe's character.

60 points are perfectly over, "Dear Basketball", love is the best teacher in a person's life.

2013 was the watershed of Kobe's NBA career. In order to bring the Lakers into the playoffs, Kobe fulfilled his promise and fell rapidly due to a devastating Achilles tendon rupture.

Fate has been joking with Kobe at the end of his career: he returned after ruptured the Achilles tendon and recovered from his injury for 8 months, and played only 6 regular games, and his left knee tibia fracture was reimbursed again in the season; Kobe returned to his 19th season after 10 months of recovery, playing only 35 games, and suffered a torn tendon of the right shoulder rotary sleeve, and was reimbursed again in the season - three major injuries and three seasons reimbursed, only he himself knew the bitterness in his heart.

In the 2015-16 season, the relatively healthy Kobe started his "last dance". He played in 66 regular season games, and his career high after the 2012-13 season was a career high. He expressed all his emotions over the years with a single 60-point retirement performance. He was bruised and bruised for 20 years, but after a long period of hard practice, he left behind the knife-like muscles and conditioned reflexes. These 60 points are not accidental. Year after year of love, concentration, diligence, self-discipline and hard work are the final rewards of time to all the positive energy and beautiful qualities of a human individual.

Diligent and hardworking, almost paranoid desire to win and competitive mentality, love, persistence, harshness, fight back, and fearlessness, the Mamba spirit determines that these qualities of a person may succeed in all walks of life.

Kobe has squeezed himself to the extreme, and in the journey of pursuing greatness, as he said, these qualities will benefit lifelong even if they fail in the end.

The Mamba spirit inspires countless people from all walks of life around the world, and we often miss him, just as he inspires us to be a better selves. Kobe Bryant, 47 years old, happy birthday!

Death is never the end of life. At the cultural heritage level, those who love us and our love have always been there.