Star Wars: The Clone Warsanimated series featured a character inspired by NBA legend Kobe Bryant. The world is mourning thedeath of Kobe Bryant, along with his 13-year old daughter Gianna, and seven other passengers who all died in a helicopter crash yesterday morning. Fans, colleagues, and family have all been paying tribute to Bryant, while wishing his family the best. In that time, people have also been uncovering a lot more about the basketball player and realizing there was more to him than just playing the game and being a family man.
Star Wars: The Clone Warsfeatures the tactical droid K2-B4, who was introduced in season three of the hit show. It was no mistake that the initials of the droid are the same as Kobe Bryant’s and that the numbers matched his jersey. Looking closer, K2-B4 even has the iconic purple and gold coloring of the Los Angeles Lakers, the teamKobe Bryanthelped win five championships. The droid showed up in three episodes in 2011, after Bryant led the Lakers to back-to-back championships.
This isn’t the first time that Kobe Bryant was mentioned with theStar Warsfranchise and it certainly will not be the last. Back in April of 2013, Bryant suffered a torn Achilles tendon, which kept him on the sidelines for a decent amount of the season. When he decided that he was healthy enough to return, he came out of the locker room to the iconic “Imperial March” fromA New Hope. Bryant even likened himself to Darth Vader at the time and revealed that he spoke toStar Warscomposer John Williams for advice.
Kobe Bryant was always trying to better himself on and off the court. Taking advice from just about wherever he could get it, but mostly from experts in their respective fields. It was all a part of his Mamba Mentality to keep striving for more and itinfluenced millions of people all over the worldwho don’t settle for things. Bryant kept pushing, much like George Lucas did in 1976 and 1977 in a rush to getA New Hopeready for the big screen. It changed the entertainment world forever, much like Bryant did forthe world of basketball.
While some may think that it was odd for Kobe Bryant to speak to John Williams, it actually makes a lot of sense. Williams is a legend in his field, even going on to win yet another Grammy last night for his work onThe Rise of Skywalker, which is his lastStar Warsmovie. Bryant changed the NBA and the lives of his followers in his 20-season career as one of the best players to ever pick up the ball. Some have even hailed him as the best. You can head over to theStar Wars Fandomsite for more info on K2-B4.
