There was a time when the NBA allowed high school basketball players to jump directly to the league without any college experience. There was no talk of “one and done” players joining University ranks before being drafted into the Millionaire Club.

One of the players who paved the way for the NBA of today came straight from Lower Merion High School outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A man who did exactly what I wanted to do, a player I admired for being the talent that everyone said he couldn’t be, a guy who created a legacy around one name: Kobe.

Say what you will about the 18 year old Kobe demanding to play for the Los Angeles Lakers. Maybe at times during his career he played with a swagger that certain fans did not like. His inauguration into professional basketball came at a time when Jordan was ruling the league. No one wanted to see the King dethroned – certainly not by some flashy teenager straight out of high school that could speak Italian fluently and signed with Jordan’s shoe rival Adidas.

But I did. I believed that 18 year old kid was just like me – wanting to live out a dream and I wanted to live out my dream of basketball through him. As much as I don’t like the Lakers I always wanted Kobe to win. When Kobe came out with shoes I got them – I’ll never forget the “spaceman” shoes – I still have them.

Now that the NBA has moved on from Kobe and my dream, the league is different. 20 years of Jellybean Bryant’s son and now he’s gone. Life moves on and as I watch Kobe as a man and not that 18 year old kid – I realize that I’ve grown too. I fight the feeling that I’m getting old, but seeing the years on Kobe’s face I realize we both have aged. It doesn’t matter to me about the championships or the awards or points. What matters is Kobe did the things I wanted to do at a time I wanted to do them. Kobe was me.