There are dozens of stories that laud Kobe Bryant's work ethic, and an abundance that glorify his audaciousness. Here, in Eight on Eight, is a collection of stories on how @kobebryant impacted everyday people. (A thread) https://theundefeated.com/features/kobe-bryant-impact-a-collection-of-stories-of/

Like Jarred Jones, who went to the @TheEllenShow thinking he'd sit in the studio audience. Instead, he was invited onstage to shoot baskets with Kobe, was invited to a Laker game (where he got to the locker room and got tons of merch) and attended Kobe's camp.

And @Cabbie, a Canadian journalist who asked Kobe for his phone number and address on the first day they met. That set up a special relationship which allowed Cabbie to conduct interviews with Kobe in a limo and a helicopter.

Kristen O'Connor Hecht asked her husband (who worked for the @Suns - now with the @Brewers) if he could help secure a Kobe autograph for a terminally ill five-year-old named Kobe. Bryant delivered the autograph to the ICU. "A moment I'll remember the rest of my life," she said.

Andrew Ntzouras modeled part of his fourth-grade curriculum after The Punies audio series created by Kobe and @Granity. Kobe showed came to the school to take it in. "He was able to experience the impact of his work,” Ntzouras said. “I think he got gratification in that.”

@EliseBuik, president/CEO of @LAUnitedWay, said the involvement of Kobe and Vanessa Bryant "mainstreamed the issue of homelessness in Los Angeles. "He never asked for a fee, he signed every autograph," Buik said. “He brought humanity to every interchange with people.

When the car of @RyanWilliamsA1 got crushed at an intersection in Newport his Starbucks acquaintance, Kobe, came to the rescue. "He was a member of our community," Williams said. "He was never too big for anyone.”

And one day @azzi_35, the top HS player in the class of 2021 (bound for @UConnWBB) send a DM to Bryant out of the blue asking if she could work out with Kobe and Gigi. That's how this happened:

Check out the story, in which I include this gem from the book "Three-Ring Circus," about the Lakers Dynasty written by @jeffpearlman. It describes the day Kobe introduced himself to his Laker teammates