Walk - or cycle - around the narrow cobbled streets of Reggio Emilia in northern Italy, just between Parma and Bologna, and you’ll likely not even notice a tiny playground with basketball hoops coming out from the walls.

That epitomized the late NBA great's relationship with the women's game. After his 20-year playing career ended, Bryant turned his focus to the next generation, mentoring some of women's basketball's biggest stars, from WNBA champion and Olympic gold medalist Diana Taurasi to former Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu.

The impact of Bryant’s career, and the ‘Mamba Mentality,’ carry on in the kind of way that almost makes you forget that he’s gone.

Somehow, with all that has happened between that awful moment and now, it remains surreal and hard to believe that it was five years ago today that Kobe Bean Bryant, along with his daughter Gianna and seven others,

Kobe Bryant may be gone, but his "Mamba Mentality" lives on. Five years after his death, Bryant's legacy continues to grow and inspire.