I’m in shock over this one, to be honest.
I was never a big Bryant fan. I thought he took way too many bad shots, and that his hypercompetitiveness made him a bad teammate; there was the Denver thing, too. That said, he was unquestionably a thoughtful man whose horizons extended well beyond basketball. He had much to offer the world even after his retirement. He will be sorely missed, and not just by NBA fans.