In the spring of 2010, a small, blonde nine year old boy stayed up late on a Saturday to spend time with his older brother to watch someone that was on his way to making basketball history.

That young boy was me, and that someone was Kobe Bryant. That player, who was well on his way to his fifth NBA championship that Spring, was the first real basketball star I remember watching. LeBron James, who many consider to be one of the greatest basketball players, was just getting started when I was a child, so all the attention was on Kobe.

Bryant, a hero to many but specifically to fans of the Los Angeles Lakers, was on his way to his daughter’s basketball game in a helicopter when he and eight others lost their lives on Sunday morning. And, just like that, my childhood basketball hero was gone. His impact will live on for a long, long time, though.

Bryant, and the star that he was, inspired many young people in America and around the world to pick up a basketball and play. He scored 81 points in a game, which is a game that will not soon be forgotten by many. He won five championships–including three in a row in a legendary partnership with Shaquille O’Neal–in a rare one-team career, in which he led by example in terms of loyalty.

But, more than that, he was a 41 year old family man with a wife and four daughters, one of which also lost her life in the crash. Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant was just 13 years old when she lost her life, and she was just beginning in what could have been a more impactful career than her fathers’. Because the women’s game is still growing, both nationally and internationally, a star like Bryant could have left a lasting impact. But her life was tragically cut short on Sunday.

That nine year old boy watched in awe as Kobe Bryant went for his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP trophy. He may not know what that what he was watching was history in the making, but I do now. The impact that celebrities, athletes and people you never even meet can have on you is beyond explanation in words, and it’s crazy. The next time you pick up a basketball, play a video game or just simply eat food, be thankful that you still can. Life is too precious and short to not.