When those players retired or their talents faded, Mr. Bryant took up their mantle. He famously clashed with O’Neal, orchestrating the fun-loving center’s trade from Los Angeles in 2004 because Mr. Bryant occasionally viewed him as lazy. In one of his final public appearances, Mr. Bryant and Gianna were courtside at a Lakers game in December, with Mr. Bryant appearing to intensely break down a play to his daughter. Much respect my brother,” Mr. Bryant’s tweet read, with a hashtag of James’s point total when he passed Mr. Bryant: 33,644. It was one of five nominees for best animated short before the 2018 Academy Awards; Mr. Bryant took to the stage following his victory and, in one of the four languages Mr. Bryant claimed fluency in, thanked Vanessa and his three daughters.

Source: Washington Post January 27, 2020 01:10 UTC