Kobe Bryant’s final tweet paid respect to LeBron James and the next generation

Kobe Bryant’s final tweet paid respect to LeBron James and the next generation just 16 hours before he was reported dead.

In life, Kobe Bryant was a game-changer and in what turns out to have been the final hours of his like Bryant paid homage to another man who has taken basketball by storm, the same way Bryant did 20 years ago.

On Saturday, Bryant tweeted what would be his last public decree when he paid his respect to another NBA GOAT, LeBron James.

“Continuing to move the game forward [Lebron James],” he wrote. “Much respect my brother #33644.”

https://twitter.com/kobebryant/status/1221276426164269056?s=20

It was tweeted just 16 hours before the news broke that Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in Southern California on Sunday.

The context of the tweet, which now holds particular significance, was the news that James had surpassed Bryant for third on the all-time scoring list.

James spoke about the moment, via ESPN on Saturday. No one knew Bryant would be dead less than 24 hours later.

“It’s just too much. It’s too much. The story is too much,” James said “It doesn’t make sense. Just to make a long story short, now I’m here in a Lakers uniform, in Philadelphia, where he’s from. The first time I ever met him, gave me his shoes on All-Star Weekend. It’s surreal. It doesn’t make no sense, but the universe just puts things in your life. And I guess when you live in the right way, when you just give it everything to whatever you’re doing, things happen organically.”

Bryant’s legacy was solidified a long time before his passing, but this final tweet serves as a reminder that while others may come along and prove to be better than Bryant on the court, he would have always supported them on the sideline.