When I was growing up, one of the first things I learned about myself was that I loved basketball. As my life has continued to develop, I've never lost that love, through all the camps I attended and teams I played on. When I first began watching the sport, it was 2008, and the first NBA Finals I watched was between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. It was here that I was introduced to the dominance and tenacity of the great Kobe Bryant. Although Boston's Big Three would win that series, it was easy to respect and admire Kobe, thanks to his relentless drive to be the best and never ending passion for the game. When I sit back and think about it, Kobe is perhaps the only true constant for my entire life. Just a year after I was born, he won his first ring of many to come, and as I began to take shape as a truly individual person, so did he, taking over the reins as Los Angeles' top star and face of the franchise. Kobe defined basketball in so many ways, and i...