Feb. 9, 2024; Los Angeles, Calif.; The Los Angeles Lakers unveil a statue to the public honoring Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant at Crypto.com Arena. Bryant won five NBA championships and played all twenty of his NBA seasons with the franchise. Bryant died in a helicopter crash with his daughter Gianna in January 2020. Mandatory Credit: Sandy Hooper-USA TODAY Sandy Hooper-USA TODAY

Longtime Kobe Bryant Rival Now Trying to Honor Legacy

Originally posted on Los Angeles Lakers on SI
By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated May 24, 2025 10:00 AM ET

Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant's legend looms large, even five years removed from his untimely passing.

The 6-foot-6 swingman spent all 20 of his NBA seasons playing for L.A., bringing the Lakers five championships in seven NBA Finals berths, alongside first Hall of Fame center Shaquille O'Neal and later Hall of Fame power forward/center Pau Gasol.

A one-time MVP, Bryant made 15 All-NBA teams and 12 All-Defensive teams. He finished his historic run as one of the best two-way wings in the history of the game, a legacy that still stands.

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Between 1996-2016, Bryant averaged 25.0 points on .447/.329/.837 shooting splits, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists, across 1,346 career regular season contests

During an interview with longtime NBA insider Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson, former Bryant on-court rival Chris Childs reflected on the Lakers great's enduring legacy.

Chris Childs looks back on his fight with Kobe Bryant and how it shaped his view @ScoopB https://t.co/hcerm5Smdy
— TalkBasket (@TalkBasket) May 22, 2025

“We never sat down and talked about it; we were competitors,” Childs said. “We weren’t friends. We didn’t go to dinner, but we had mutual respect for each other as far as how we played the game and how we prepared, and I have nothing but respect for that man for what he’s done on the court and off the court.”

As Robinson notes, Childs and Bryant got into an infamous clash during an April 2000 matchup, when Childs was playing for a then-contending New York Knicks squad. Their conflict came to blows.

Now, Childs is hoping to continue the late Bryant's legacy off the court. A girl dad four times over, Bryant was a huge proponent of girls' and women's basketball, and served as a mentor to the current crop of WNBA talent.

“If I can take a fraction of that and give back to the community; give back to girls basketball and give back to what I do which is mentoring young men and trying to help them become exceptional men,” Childs said, “then I’ve done his legacy proud and hopefully others can follow suit.”

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“His untimely death was unfortunate. Time stopped, I stopped,” Childs said. “I’m pretty sure like any other guy that played with him or against him.”

Bryant and eight other souls perished in a Calabasas helicopter crash, on the foggy morning of January 26, 2020.

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This article first appeared on FanNation All Lakers and was syndicated with permission.

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