Kobe Bryant Built an Empire, Just Not the One You're Thinking

This Lakers season was by most accounts a disappointment. After making the Western Conference Finals eleven months ago, the Lakers were eliminated by the Nuggets in the Quarterfinals four games to one. A roster headlining LeBron James and Anthony Davis seemed too talented all season to be fighting for a playoff berth, but here they were limping into the postseason via a play-in spot. After the underachieving squad blew a double digit leads in each loss to Denver, coach Darvin Ham was fired. 

The failed run for an 18th title resounded throughout Lakers Nation, but among the millions of disappointed fans in and around Southern California, no one compares to Aron Cohen. 

Aron - a 25 year old Los Angeles lifer - is one of the world’s most devoted Lakers fans, exemplified by his Lakers social media fan page. At over one million followers across Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, he boasts the largest following of any Lakers fan community in the world. 

This passion project began in 2013 in the nascent stages of phone-first media, years before terms like algorithms and influencers were in the social media lexicon. 

This was no post-pandemic content-creator origin story. There was no trend Aron was following. He simply began posting Lakers memes, highlights, stats, and updates for a fun way to connect to others. 

Ten years later, this anthology of media has evolved into his company called Lakers All Day Everyday (LADE). 

When I first met Aron at his home studio in Beverlywood, where he records his LADE Show podcast with retired NBA All-Star Lamar Odom, I was anxious to see whether a mid-20 something would have the wisdom to analyze and articulate his identity as a lifelong sports fan. 

Yet to my delight, I was blown away by Aron’s EQ towards his Lakers fandom and his ability to take a deep dive into “what it’s all about.”

Throughout my interview with Aron, I could tell he wasn’t just any ordinary die-hard fan, but a CEO, leader, and guru responsible for leading an online community of all things Lakers fandom. 

What drew me in most was his words about Kobe Bryant - the player that drew him to Lakers basketball. Aron was just seven when he began watching the Lakers. Sure the Lakers were on local television, but geographic proximity wasn’t why he stuck with the team. His genuine reason for watching the Lakers was the opportunity to watch Kobe. 

Before the world saw Kobe as a mindset and approach to life (Mamba Mentality), Aron saw Kobe as a gift. Watching Kobe was the alluring reward for Aron to finish his math homework by 7 pm tipoff or complete his morning chores before Sunday’s NBA on NBC matinee. Once Aron finished his tasks, Kobe was all his.

Aron became addicted to watching Kobe - this entity who so elegantly blended grace with dominance. Kobe would either massage an entire game with a smooth 40 point night or pierce a victory with a game winning dagger into the opponent’s heart.  

A few years later, when Aron turned double digits, Kobe would bring glory back to Los Angeles by winning consecutive titles. As Kobe cradled both the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship trophy and the Bill Russell trophy for Finals MVP, Aron’s appraisal of Kobe transitioned from entertainer, prodigy, and virtuoso into both a leader and winner. 

Aron saw that being brilliant at a skill can only take one so far, but to ultimately come out on top, one must be obsessed with honing and mastering one’s craft. This meta-obsession translated into Aron’s adolescence, when he felt this new-found responsibility to post daily Lakers content on Instagram. 

Aron’s obsession with Kobe and therefore the Lakers (Aron is on record saying that despite being from LA, he would have switched favorite teams if Kobe had moved teams) was on full display even during the leanest years in Lakers history. 

After missing the postseason just four times in their 64 years of existence, the Lakers would go six straight seasons without a playoff berth. Enduring a stretch of this feeble, lifeless style of basketball would have deterred most fans from publicly flaunting their allegiance. Yet this era, from 2013-2019, was when Aron began laying out the breadcrumbs for his brand. 

No matter the situation, whether dealing with Kobe’s season ending injury in 2013 or the 17 win season in 2016, Aron’s posts remained positive. Despite universal aphorisms like “bad publicity is good publicity” and “misery loves company”, this teenager’s agenda was spreading unconditional love for his team to uplift their fans through darkness. 

If Aron would’ve posted messages akin to “BLOW UP THE TEAM” or “Get rid of this bum”, he wouldn’t have received the adoring followers who also share positive light. He would’ve been perpetuating the sports media complex of talking heads who entertain with emotion and without enlightenment.

Upon reflection, Aron realizes that his sound and rational demeanor likely helped him become one of the foremost recruiters for prominent Lakers like Metta World Peace and Pau Gasol to come on his podcast. His podcast guests, including his co-host Lamar Odom, trust him to stay positive and encouraging about themselves, their teammates, and coaches. 

Amidst the backdrop of the franchise’s “championship or bust” credo, Aron’s patience and pride for the Lakers have bonded him with his fans who share these same virtues - as if to step back and think what good does anger towards my team get me? 

Occasionally when I watch NBA players excel with spell-bounding feats of athleticism and will (most recently focusing on Jalen Brunson and Nikola Jokic), I check-in with myself and think about what I’m concurrently feeling. These meta-emotions may include motivated, entertained, inspired.

But never have I thought grateful.

It’s this word grateful which might best describe Aron’s adoration for Kobe. 

To write about Aron is to write about a young child appreciating another person’s presence. The relationship transcends that of a family member, which is based on tangible reciprocal love. It’s also greater than a voyeuristic relationship watching a television character to feel something ephemerally - like when Cartman gives us a laugh or Ted Lasso provides us a smile. Aron’s studying of Kobe translated to lessons utilized for his own masterpiece - his business.  

Aron paralleled Kobe’s hunger for success in the form of routine, diligence, and sticking with a plan. When Gen Zers ask Aron how to quickly grow a social media following, he unsurprisingly preaches there are no shortcuts to greatness. You must be consistent, put in the work, and ride the tough times. 

Around the time Aron’s social media was picking up, Kobe’s career was winding down. 

During Kobe’s final week, Aron wore his jersey at school- a major exception granted by his Orthodox Jewish Day School. Despite the traditional adherence to a mandatory collared shirt, the faculty overrode their dress code to let Aron savor this moment.

Each school day Aron donned the purple and gold “24”, he felt a pattern of anxiety, tension, and nerves. 

With Kobe’s final game approaching that Saturday, Aron deflected a flurry of friends’ requests to watch the game with him. In his heart, Kobe’s final game was meant to be watched alone. It would be too emotionally difficult to entertain others and give commentary. He wanted this moment by himself. 

Kobe’s finale was a major pivot from Aron’s expectations. He had envisioned Staples Center giving Kobe a snazzy ceremony with the gimpy Kobe playing limited minutes. But just as the Hollywood writers up Route 101 would have scripted, Kobe’s career ended both with a twist and happily ever after. 

He scored 60 points, spearheading a game-ending 15-0 run to overcome a 10 point two minute deficit…. The transcendent entertainer and leader had one final act after all - an act of personal brilliance and team victory. 

After Kobe walked off the court for a final time, Aron was in tears. His childhood-turned-adolescence flashing before his damp eyes, thinking about how Kobe influenced who he was - a budding entrepreneur, a devoted son and grandson, a mensch who lived with much exuberance and gusto. 

The more Aron had studied Kobe, the more he understood the gestalt of the Mamba Mentality. Life’s valor isn’t just about how you attack successes, but how you harness challenges. Aron channeled that balanced approach to stay strong in his own adversities - his parents divorce, sister’s cancer diagnosis, and eventually the death of his hero. 

January 26, 2020. 

A junior at the University of Southern California, Aron is just waking up in his dorm room when his drowsy eyes glaze over the first text message. 

“Kobe died.” 

Aron is confused, rationalizing that the texter doesn’t follow basketball and must have received some misinformation. 

He’s getting dressed while scrolling on his phone, where he clicks on a TMZ report that Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. Aron thinks it’s a hoax.  

An hour later, his phone blows up with more of the same: 

“RIP GOAT” 

“So fuckin’ sad”

“This can’t be happening!”. 

He turns on the television to the news. He sees it. It hits him. 

His hero, Kobe Bryant, was dead. 

Aron would spend the entire day bawling in his bed. Having yet to lose a close family member, this felt like his first.

The crescendo of sadness hit hardest when he realized that he would never get the chance to meet Kobe. No amount of milestones from his social media or clout among Lakers fans, no courtside seat or sum of money, could bring Kobe back. He would never have the opportunity to thank him. 

Aron skipped school for a few days, spending time with his online LADE community -  the very community he started because of Kobe. Bonding with Kobe fans from all demographics - young, old, international, etc. - would become the most genuine way to grieve.     

This, he thought, is why I wanted to build a community. Just as I started the fan page through the toughest Lakers era of my lifetime, my followers know that I’m one to stick with through the toughest times. Through this tragedy, they’ve reciprocated. 

The early weeks after Kobe’s passing weren’t easy for Aron and looking back, a lot felt like a blur. But Aron vividly remembers one post he shared with his fans: Any day can be your last, doesn’t matter how rich or famous you are. If you have anger towards your family members, get rid of it. Live your life to the fullest and most positive degree. 

Sports presents an odd platform where spectators gets to watch 20 year olds excel at their craft at the highest level. We may not always be conscious of it, but what we’re witnessing are humans with the greatest scope of will, outworking and outhustling 99.9% of everyone else who had the same dream. 

The same can be said for 25 year old Aron, an entrepreneur who was ahead of his time and still put in the work for a decade. He’s created a company on the largest social media following for the NBA’s most valuable franchise, which happens to be in one of the largest media markets. 

The Lakers will continue providing Aron endless content which, depending on who they re-sign, if LeBron retires, and other roster shakeups, may seem like a tall task of spinning straw into gold. 

But Aron, a superstar among a budding generation of content creators, is up for the challenge.  He will continue to deliver his fans an optimistic outlook towards whatever may come of the Lakers next season. Lakers All Day Everyday is another canvas on which Aron paints his positive life - just one of the many lives touched by the influence, ascendancy, and guidance of Kobe Bryant.