I cried today. The young boy in me cried today. People who live for sports cried today and people who have never watched sports cried today. We all cried today. People leave this earth each and every day and I felt guilty to be in such disbelief today. But we all have our personal stories about a young man that we never personally knew. It feels personal. I remember watching the youngest player to ever play in the NBA while only being just a few years younger myself. I remember getting my hands on every rookie card that Beckett had a price on that season because I was enamored by this charismatic and unbelievably talented young man who also wore my name on the back of his jersey. I imitated the dunk contest for a decade. I haven't followed the NBA as much in my 30's as I did as a kid, but I remember tearing up as he rode away into the sunset with 60 points on the final night of his career. It should have been just the beginning of his life. But those stories aren't why we cried today. If you were a kid growing up in the 90's there were 2 numbers that you pretended to be every time you held a ball on an old driveway court. You were either No. 23 or you were No. 8. When I pulled back that fade away jumper and imagined I was No. 8 at the Staples Center with 2 sec left down by 1 in game 7 of the Finals, No. 8 taught me to dream. A dream was just a dream without the work though. He was just a kid himself making it happen. Not many of us have had a career in basketball, but he changed the world and a generation because he taught us all to dream and to chase a dream with passion. Every game was game 7 of the Finals to No. 8. That's why he transcended. That's why we cried today.

As I've been glued to television coverage for most of the day like everyone else, two things have been constant: disbelief and praise. From fellow athletes to political figures, I've only heard praise about No. 8/24 today. I pray that for each and every one of us, when our time is called up here on earth that the only words that can be said about us are praise. That is a life worth dreaming about. Thanks for the dreams, Mamba.

My heart and prayers go out for the 9 lives lost today. RIP, #Kobe

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