The impact of Bryant’s career, and the ‘Mamba Mentality,’ carry on in the kind of way that almost makes you forget that he’s gone.

LOS ANGELES – On the side of a gym in downtown Los Angeles, two figures with angelic wings – Kobe Bryant, who won five National Basketball Association titles with the Los Angeles Lakers, and his daughter Gianna – are depicted together in the clouds. Near one feather, the words “Do not touch this mural” are sprayed in a faded white script.

The Los Angeles Lakers' social media offering on Sunday morning was both delightfully sweet and devastatingly sad. The sweet part of the post on X was a photo of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant with his arm around Gianna,