Kobe Gibbs: Celebrating Every Small Step
The basketball player from Tampa, Florida, found the support he needed at Shepherd Center
On Nov. 2, 2025, Kobe Gibbs was riding in a car when it hit a concrete wall. He sustained a traumatic brain injury, fractured spine, broken jaw, and collapsed lung. He was unconscious in the ICU at Tampa General Hospital for 25 days.
Staff at the hospital told his mother, Jamila, that Shepherd Center was the best place for his rehabilitation.
Kobe arrived at Shepherd Center on Nov. 22, still unconscious and using a ventilator to help him breathe. Jamila was impressed that therapists began working with him on the first day.
“They got right down to business,” Jamila says. “They fitted him for a wheelchair and started physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Even though he was unconscious, they could see what I couldn’t.”
Three days later, Kobe woke up. He spent the next three months relearning to walk, talk, swallow, and working to regain his memory and his strength.
“He made progress faster than they thought he would,” Jamila says. “We learned to celebrate every small step.”
Kobe, who is 6-foot-8, played college basketball before the crash and brought that same discipline and work ethic to his rehabilitation. He also stayed positive and tried to share that positivity with others. 
“I was motivated by the ‘no’s,’” Kobe says. “When they told me I couldn’t do something, I worked hard to prove them wrong. If I doubted myself, then it would become a reality.”
He was walking on his own by the time he left Shepherd Center on Jan. 8 to continue his recovery at Shepherd Pathways, Shepherd Center’s comprehensive outpatient brain injury rehabilitation program. He returned home on Feb. 20.
Kobe now plays some basketball, helps train people at his church gym and continues physical therapy. His goal is to return to college, but instead of continuing with business classes, he is considering becoming a personal trainer.
“I appreciated the people who helped me get back in shape, and I would like to do that for others,” Kobe says.
For Jamila, Kobe’s recovery also reflected the support and encouragement they found throughout their time at Shepherd Center.
“Shepherd is a place of hope,” Jamila says. “And it’s a community where everyone knows what you’re going through. They were treating Kobe, but they were also taking care of and supporting me. They showed us so much hope, encouragement and knowledge through the darkest time of my life.”
Written by Sara Baxter
With five decades of experience, Shepherd Center provides world-class clinical care, research, and family support for people experiencing the most complex conditions, including spinal cord and brain injuries, multi-trauma, traumatic amputations, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and pain. An elite center ranked by U.S. News as one of the nation’s top hospitals for rehabilitation, Shepherd Center is also recognized as both Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems. Shepherd Center treats thousands of patients annually with unmatched expertise and unwavering compassion to help them begin again.