I painted this in early 2021, a year after the passing of Kobe and his daughter Gigi. I had saved the photo years earlier because of how touching it was to me and I knew it was the way I wanted to immortalize him after his death. For me, this is the most powerful and important image of Kobe I had ever seen, and that's saying something when considering all of his legendary moments. This one felt really special, highlighting an aspect of Kobe's greatness that has been understandably unrepresented. Most of us remember Kobe as the Black Mamba, the absolute beast on the court who imprinted his will upon the league from the moment he entered the NBA at age 18 to his very last game when he scored 61 points at the ripe age of 37. The basketball savant will forever serve as an icon and an inspiration for people who have dreams of achieving greatness, but I wanted to highlight the aspects of his career that didn't bring him fame and fortune but he is undoubtedly more proud of. I wanted to highlight him as a father. I wanted to highlight Kobe as a husband, a friend, and a teacher. It is fun to remember all his wild shots and incredible dunks but I think it is more important to remember the little moments like these which illustrate the tenderness of who he was even in the midst of a game, which he played with such ferocity. I painted this picture because I wanted to remember Kobe as a human being.
