Walker: A year after Kobe Bryant’s death, his legacy continues to shine around the NBA

New Orleans Pelicans guard Josh Hart didn’t realize it has been a whole year.

For Hart, like the rest of us, it feels more like yesterday.

You surely remember exactly where you were on Jan. 26, 2020, when you got the news that one of the greatest basketball players to ever lace ’em up was killed in a helicopter crash.

I was getting dressed that Sunday morning when my cell phone started buzzing non-stop, with friends asking if I had heard about Kobe and if it was really true.

It was true: a tragic death that set off a chain reaction of the strangest year most of us have ever lived.

“Gone too soon,” were the three words splashed in giant letters across the front page of the sports section of this newspaper the next day.

And though Kobe Bryant — who left us at age 41 — is gone, his presence is still felt a year later, especially by the guys in the NBA who grew up watching him. He was the guy they all wanted to be, whether it was on the court shooting a basket or in their bedrooms shooting a wadded-up piece of paper into a trashcan.

“Obviously he’s probably the most impactful player in the league in terms of how he was able to make his generation and generations to follow better, more competitive,” Hart said. “(The desire for) more skill and drive and dedication to the game, all those things come from him.”

But for players like Hart, it wasn’t just what he Kobe did physically. It was also about what he could do mentally.

“You see everyone talk about ‘Mamba mentality,’ ” Hart said. “Not just basketball players, but athletes in general and just regular businessmen talk about ‘Mamba mentality.’ It’s very rare to have someone like that who transcends the mentality of generations. So obviously everyone misses him, we wish he was here.”

It was the kind of legacy Kobe wanted to leave behind. He told us so in April of 2016, when he played his final game at the Smoothie King Center. He walked off the court to a standing ovation that night, just like he did in every city on his farewell tour.

“To experience this kind of love is crazy,” Bryant said. “…They have inspired me to try to be the best version of myself. That’s what the game is really all about. When you retire and the championship trophies are sitting there and dust collects on them, you want to create something that stands the test of time.”

He didn’t stop there.

“The game is much bigger than scoring points and winning championships,” Bryant continued. “It’s really about if you have been able to move or inspire somebody for a brief moment to want to be a better version of themselves. Hopefully I’ve done that.”

This time a year ago, the Pelicans had to find the strength to play a game on the day of Kobe’s death. They beat the Boston Celtics 123-108 that day, although nobody really paid attention to the scoreboard. The only numbers that really mattered that day were the numbers 8 and 24, the two numbers Bryant wore in his 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers.

A year later, he’s still on the minds of everyone in the NBA.

Next year this time, he’ll still be there on everyone’s minds, as Pelicans forward Zion Williamson reminded us last Jan. 26.

“He’s a legend,” Williamson said. “Legends never die.”