Of course, there will never be another Kobe Bryant. But make no mistake, Kobe Brown and Kobe Bufkin would be the first two players at the NBA Summer League, and both insist that there will never be another Bryant. They made it clear that they would never pretend otherwise. But the NBA is about to have fans watching guys named Kobe again for the first time since the Hall of Famer retired in 2016.
Brown is in the Summer League with the Los Angeles Clippers, while Bufkin is just entering his rookie year with the Atlanta Hawks. Both were quoted for Bryant, who is the only player named Kobe to make it to the NBA for now, but that seems likely to change in a couple of months.
Brown said, "It means a lot. I feel like there’s a target on my back. A lot of guys, when they hear the name Kobe, they think of Kobe Bryant. And I’m not him by any means, but I try to keep that path and play as hard as I can, just like he did."
Kobe Bufkin, who was born in 2003, also said, "It has never affected me too much when it comes to playing ball. I try as much as possible not to think about it when I’m on the court. But carrying the name certainly comes with an edgy work ethic that you’ve got to try to match, and it’s hard as hell to match it. But I’ll be alright if I get halfway there."
Just like Kobe Bryant was always the last one on the court at practice and getting yelled at because the buses were waiting for him.
When the Hawks had a Summer League practice this week, which was scheduled to go for 45 minutes, and a little bit of shooting afterward. Most players were already off the court after about an hour and a few minutes, But Bufkin was still on the court, working on drives from half-court against a defender.
Almost all of the players had their sneakers off and were ready to head out to the bus a few minutes after that, but Bufkin was still on the court.
"Just trying to follow the blueprint," Bufkin said.
How fitting!
How Many People Answer The Name Bryant?
It’s very tricky and almost impossible to know exactly how many people are named Kobe. It is unusual and remains relatively.
The Social Security Administration reports that there was a six-year stretch from the period of 1998 through 2003, which coincided with Bryant’s early years in the NBA and first three championship seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers when the trend of giving babies that name reached its peak; the most was in 2001 when 1,552 baby boys had Social Security card applications filed for them with that name.
The name still had a few hundred babies each year until 2020, after the incident of Bryant's death, daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash in Southern California. Another 1,500 boys were given the name that year.