Rozner: He will always be known as Kobe

It was only Saturday night that we were watching Kobe Bryant highlights.

Appropriate, of course, given that LeBron James passed Bryant for third on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

There was Bryant passing Doc. Bryant passing Wilt. Bryant passing Michael.

And finally LeBron passing Kobe.

Yeah, Kobe had become one of the singular names in NBA history, on a first-name only basis among the greatest.

Bryant tweeted congrats to James and his message went viral on social media.

About 12 hours later, Bryant - only 41 years old - died in a helicopter crash in Southern California along with one of his four daughters.

A few months away from a certain first-ballot vote to the Hall of Fame, Bryant had moved on to so many post-career ventures that his life was only beginning in many ways.

Like others before him, he hung around the game too long, refusing to retire when his best days were behind him, but it appeared as if he had found happiness with his family in retirement and in producing many media and business ventures.

And now he is gone. So young. So tragic for those closest to him.

The public Kobe we knew was all about becoming the next Michael Jordan, not that anyone will ever have the title, but he did all he could in trying.

Everything about him eventually looked like Michael, from the walk to the talk to the tongue to the ferocious mentality on the court.

Though no one will match Jordan's six titles in six tries with six NBA Finals MVPs and five regular season MVPs, Bryant nevertheless retired with five rings, two Finals MVPs, one regular season MVP, two scoring titles and nine times all-NBA first defensive team.

The latter he also credited to watching Jordan develop into one of the best defenders the game has ever known.

There were comparisons to Jordan from early in his career to the time he finished. There was no avoiding it. And while at times he seemed obsessed with Michael, I asked him in late 1997 about that.

His response was something along the lines of wanting to be his own man, but that if he were ever compared to Jordan, there couldn't be a better compliment.

To the end of his career, it seemed that the comparison to Michael was as important to him as anything else he accomplished.

"When I came into the league I wanted to take him on," Bryant told Shaquille O'Neal in a TV interview two years ago. "But what happened was (Jordan) wound up becoming a big brother to me.

"He saw something in me that reminded him of himself when he was coming up. He took me under his wing and showed me a lot of things, taught me a lot of things, a lot of leadership things.

"So when I passed him (on the scoring list) I remember talking to him afterward and saying, 'This is kind of like he's still here.' The information he passed on to me, I'm breathing that spirit back into the game all over again, which is a lot of the reason I try to do that now with the next generation."

The breakup with Shaq in L.A. was an unfortunate clash of egos and probably cost both more titles, but it was heartwarming when the two of them sat down for a 1-on-1 interview two years ago, all fences seemingly mended as the two giants looked happy to be together again.

They talked openly about personal rivalry, about Shaq winning first in Miami without Bryant, and then Bryant getting two more without Shaq in Los Angeles, and how Bryant was absolutely serious about moving to Chicago before Shaq was traded to Miami in July 2004.

But that final score of five rings to four mattered much to both of them.

O'Neal apologized for the way he treated Bryant, while admitting the "beef" was most mostly a great marketing ploy after they had separated.

There were a lot of hugs and there was a lot of love in that room between two of the best to ever play.

It felt right for one of the most dominating partnerships ever.

NBA fans will always argue about the best of all time, and in Chicago there is no argument, but any way you slice it, regardless of who did it with great players alongside and who did not, there's no way Bryant isn't on the list of the 10 greatest of all time.

Most probably have him in the Top 5.

No longer here to make his own case, gone at such a horribly young age, the legends of the game spoke Sunday for Bryant, and about Bryant, crushing eulogies of a man who achieved so much, who meant so much to the game.

The sadness for his family can't be overstated, his wife losing a husband and a daughter, and three children losing a father and a sister.

Hardly any solace, but his place in the annals is secure as you don't achieve a one-name designation without true greatness.

He's gone. But he will always be Kobe.