Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant linked by their roles as transcendent stars

Kobe Bryant’s death on Sunday shocked the sports world, but perhaps no one more than Tiger Woods. After all, the two of them were quite alike.

Many people who have reached the apogee of their profession earned the right to be called the Tiger Woods of that same activity. Such is the standard that Woods has set for excellence and dominance. For Tiger himself, he can rightly be called the Kobe Bryant of golf.

Tiger and Kobe share a bond that only a select few can stake a claim to: becoming the transcendent global superstar of their respective sport. Their career arc is remarkably similar. Bryant played his first NBA game in November 1996, just two months after Woods said “Hello World” and announced he was turning pro. Bryant won his first NBA Championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000, one day after Woods was finishing off a record 15-shot victory at the U.S. Open on his way to completing the “Tiger Slam.”

They both were mired in personal scandals over the years. When public squabbling between them led to Shaquille O’Neal leaving the Lakers, Bryant came back to win two more titles. Since Woods hit the fire hydrant on Thanksgiving and his private life and career were derailed by injuries, he’s won 11 times on the PGA Tour and slipped on his fifth Green Jacket last April.

They supported each other at critical times in their respective careers. Kobe congratulated Tiger following the Masters; Tiger did the same when Kobe played his final NBA game in 2016.

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Their physical talents were apparent for all to see, but what really sets them apart is their mental strength. Perhaps no other two athletes of this generation possessed the ability to remove all distractions, to have a single-minded focus on a goal, to have a sense of calm when tension abounded and excel at the toughest moments. Kobe tore his Achilles in 2013 but stayed in the game to make two free throws; Tiger won the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines with a broken leg.

Woods was back at Torrey Pines on Sunday competing in the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open, his record-setting 83rd career title within reach. After he completed his round, six shots behind winner Marc Leishman, caddie Joe LaCava told him about Kobe’s death in a helicopter crash in California earlier that afternoon.

“I just heard from Joey when we were coming off the 18th green,” a subdued Woods said following his round. “Didn’t understand why they were yelling ‘Do it for Mamba’ on the back-nine. People yell things all the time. I was just plodding along, doing my own thing, then when Joey told me that here it’s unbelievable. The reality that he’s no longer here.”

His shock, like the rest of the sporting world, is understandable. Woods grew up in California as a die-hard Lakers fan. He and Bryant became close early in their careers when the Lakers were atop the NBA world and Tiger was the most dominant golfer the game had ever seen. Even after Woods re-located to Florida they still kept in touch and worked out together occasionally.

It was that aspect of Bryant’s career, in empty gyms and quiet video rooms far from the bright lights and adoring fans, that Woods says separated them from their peers. “We really connected on more the mental side of it, the prep. How much it takes to be prepared,” he said. “For me, I don’t have to react like he does in my sport. We can take our time. But you still have to pay attention to details. And that’s what he did better probably than any other player in NBA history.”

“He spent more hours looking at film, trying to figure out what’s the best way to become better. And that’s where he and I really connected. We were very similar.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored more points than Bryant. Jack Nicklaus has won more majors than Woods. But no two superstars had the global reach of Bryant and Woods. It’s fitting that Woods’ 82nd victory, tying him with Sam Snead for most all-time, came in Japan after a career spent supporting golf around the world. Bryant spent part of his youth in Italy and spoke fluent Italian; with him as the face of the league, European representation in the NBA skyrocketed. Basketball is a much more global game now, due in no small part to Bryant.

Tiger will have to wait another day to break Snead’s record, a moment that feels imminent. After all, he’s back at the peak of his game with a major, another win, and a Presidents Cup to his credit in the last nine months. And here is, tragically, the difference between two careers that were so alike: Tiger keeps giving us memories; for Kobe, memories are now all we have.