Jack Flaherty honors Kobe Bryant's birthday with pregame outfit
Friday would have been Kobe Bryant’s 46th birthday. And players across the sports world have decided to honor the basketball legend on Friday evening. Jack Flaherty rolled up to the Dodgers game wearing a Kobe Bryant jersey, purple and gold, with the No. 8.
Bryant and eight other people were killed in a helicopter crash in January of 2020. The helicopter slammed into a hillside outside Los Angeles, according to the autopsy report. All of the passengers aboard died instantly due to blunt trauma, according to the medical examiner. The crash was considered accidental. His 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, also died in the crash.
Kobe Bryant’s legendary gold medal game performance vs. Spain
In the 2008 gold medal game against Spain, Kobe Bryant scored 13 of his 20 points in the final eight minutes of the contest. That game was a classic, and the superstar ensured that Team USA would not be denied. On the first play of the game, Bryant decided to set the tone early for the Americans by running through Gasol, who played for Spain.
With 3:10 left in the game and USA up 104-99, Bryant unleashed a devastating dagger for the ages, a four-point play that saw him bring out the silencer for the hostile crowd in Beijing.
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Bryant, nicknamed, “The Black Mamba” delivered a lethal dose of poison from which the Spaniards would not recover. Team USA would go on to defeat Spain in the contest 118-107, securing the gold medal for Bryant and his teammates.
In 2022, Netflix dropped a documentary on The Redeem Team, chronicling USA’s quest for the gold that year. Bryant was an instrumental part of that team’s success and played a massive role in turning around the fortunes of USA basketball internationally. While he was prolific with the Lakers throughout his career, his desire to turn around the fortunes of USA basketball internationally was a massive piece to their success in Beijing. And it was a critical turning point in the program, as the Americans have now won five straight gold medals.