Hello everyone, today’s post is devoted to Kobe Bryant. Today marks the one year anniversary of Kobe’s sudden and unfortunate death alongside his daughter, Gianna, and seven others.
While the world remembers Kobe on this day, I wanted to share the impact Kobe has had on my life. His attitude and actions have inspired me for years, especially when it comes to shaping a ‘can-do’ attitude.
It's been exactly one year since the sudden and gut-wrenching day when Kobe, Gigi, and seven others lost their lives in a helicopter accident.
I woke up on January 26th, 2020 in India, eagerly beginning my solo backpacking journey. Normally I wouldn't have risen so early, but I awoke at 4:30 AM for a chance to see a beautiful sunrise everyone recommended I see from the southernmost tip of India.
As I reached the coast and took photos, I started seeing unexpected messages from friends. The first one read "Did you see what happened to Kobe?" followed by variations of "RIP Kobe", "I can't believe he's gone", and it suddenly became vividly clear to me. It wasn't a social media hoax or a random forwarded message, Kobe Bryant had left this world.
I stopped taking photos and began processing what that meant. I couldn't smile anymore or hold conversations with those around me.
All that rang through my head was the phrase:
Mamba Mentality.
I remembered all the inspirational videos I had obsessively watched of Kobe explaining in great depth how he diligently worked on a daily basis, what drove him to his desire of winning so badly, and how he was determined to relentlessly work at being the greatest version of himself.
That sentence - relentlessly working at being the greatest version of oneself - always profoundly resonated with me. He embodied everything about his persona's tagline. How often does that happen?
Kobe was a 1 in 1,000,000 individual.
As Jay Williams said, "The air in the room felt different the moment Kobe walked in."
The respect of your enemies
As a lifelong Dallas Mavericks fan, my default feelings towards Kobe were those of resentment and halfhearted envy.
Why does Kobe win so much?
What makes the Lakers this hard to beat?
How does he score so consistently and play through every injury?
Do the referees give him special treatment? How does he get every call!
As Kobe became the face of the NBA and nearly three-peated twice before my Mavs upset him in the 2011 playoffs, his larger than life persona had transcended sports talk. He meant something. His attitude, charisma, and desire to compete at the highest level every single time he stepped on the court carried over to people's lives in a material way.
When someone crumples up a wad of paper and shoots at a trash can, they yell KOBE! in hopes of evoking his soul for a second and nailing a trash can jumper.
Every time kids like myself played pickup basketball at a park or school, when the buzzer rang, secretly you hoped to hit the shot and say you were clutch like Kobe.
The older I got, I realized that as much as I despised Kobe for his consistent dismantling of teams' chances of winning, the man was everything I wanted my team to have. Everything I wanted to be in my future career.
Being so prepared, practiced, and dedicated that every opportunity with the lights shining brightly was a chance to give people a reason to be inspired. The message - anything is possible if you conscientiously work hard enough - lives through him.
He gained my respect and the adoration of millions around the world because every time he beat your team, he did it in a way that made you step back and admit: he's the best player on the court. There's no way he lets his team lose.
Doing the dirty work
Usually, the leading superstar of a team doesn't set the tone on defense. But nothing about Kobe is usual. Kobe was on 12 All-Defense teams while taking on the highest-burden on the offensive end of the court.
Real leaders allow their actions to do the talking. Winning isn't sustainable if you only do the fun part of putting the ball through the hoop. You have to stop the opponent from doing that very thing. Whereas others take the easy route and shy away from giving their all on both sides of the game, Kobe played with an infectious intensity on defense - ripping a page right out of his idol Michael Jordan’s playbook.
Either you're all in or you're not. For the great ones, these choices are easy. He made sure his teammates that he was going to battle with were on the same page, and if they weren't, he knew exactly how to make their life living hell until they chose to be on the same wavelength.
On the 2008 Olympic-Gold winning ‘Redeem Team’, Coach Boeheim credits Kobe for Team USA’s defensive prowess: “I felt Kobe raised the level of everybody, especially on the defensive end.”
Even as Team USA was up 40 points, Kobe played full throttle defense against Venezuela’s Grevis Vasquez. “He’s a killer. He comes out to kill people. It’s just the way he is. He goes after it. He’s super over-the-top, all-time competitive. Him and [Michael] Jordan are the two guys I’ve seen who come to kill you. They don’t come to play.”
Work ethic and commitment to detail
In 2002, Jay Williams was the second overall pick for the Chicago Bulls. In his first matchup with the Lakers, he made his way to the arena at 3:00 PM so he could get shots up before the game. Playing Kobe Bryant meant a chance to impress against the league’s most pristine superstar.
At 3:00 PM, Kobe was already in a full sweat. Williams minded his own business and practiced hard for an hour and a half, getting in 400 jump shots. After he was done, he looked over and saw Kobe was still going at the same speed, same rhythm, and nowhere close to done.
Of course, Kobe went off that night. He dropped 40 points. When Jay walked over to Kobe after the game and asked why Kobe was in the gym for that long, this is what he said:
“Cause I saw you come in and I wanted you to know that it doesn't matter how hard you work, that I'm willing to work harder than you…”
The Kobe story that inspired me the most was his meticulous attention to detail and practice of the fundamentals. In 2007, Nike Skill Academy standout Alan Stein Jr. asked Kobe if he could watch his patented 4:00 AM workout firsthand. Kobe said yes.
Stein Jr. wanted to beat Kobe to the gym and set his alarm for 3:00 AM. When he walked in, Kobe was already dripping in sweat from his warmup. After the actual workout began with Kobe’s trainer, Stein was both perplexed and equally bored.
For the first 45 minutes, all Kobe did was work on the fundamentals. Simple dribble drills, close-range shots, and standstill three-pointers. When he later asked Kobe why he worked on the basics for so long, Kobe’s answer was classic:
“Why do you think I’m the best player in the world? Because I never ever get bored with the basics.”
All of our high school coaches/teachers must be smiling at that one. Perfect the basics in your craft & domain, and the rest will follow.
Success after the NBA
The most impressive aspect of Kobe's life to me was his post-playing career success. He reinvented himself instantly. From letting his curiosity run wild in the creative arts, starting an investment firm, and mentoring up-and-coming superstar athletes across all sports, Kobe threw himself into his new life.
Dear Basketball was originally a poem to mark the beginning of the end, as he published the story to announce his retirement at the end of the 2015-'16 season. Dear Basketball was later transformed into an arousing and poignant animated short film that won an Oscar.
Let me repeat that, Kobe won an Oscar.
He created a book series called the Wizenard Series and a podcast named The Punies, both of which aimed at younger kids and teenagers.
These creative pursuits were purposeful and developed to teach about teamwork, leadership, and communication in the language of a teenager, not through boring coaching/parental platitudes.
Kobe was adamant about giving back to the next generation.
His venture capital firm Bryant Stibel invested in companies like LegalZoom, Alibaba, and Epic Games. Kobe also individually invested in Body Armor, seeing his $6M stake balloon into $200M within seven years.
He was the rare titan who played in any arena he wanted and came away a winner.
But his greatest contribution? Being an advocate for women’s sports.
Championing women’s sports
Kobe was a father to four daughters, and he embraced being a #GirlDad to the fullest. This further manifested in his continuous promotion of women's sports, particularly basketball and soccer. His unabashed enthusiasm and positive words towards the U.S. Women's Team and various WNBA franchises fueled increased interest from the sports community at large.
When a leader like Kobe takes a hard stance on what it means to be an ally and a supporter, people take notice.
Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman worked alongside Kobe in growing the WNBA’s footprint and had this to say:
"He meant so much to all of us in women's sports because he was so respected and people listened. And, the father he was, the person he was, had an effect on others," - Nancy Lieberman
The Women’s National Soccer team was particularly Kobe’s favorite to root for. Following retirement, Kobe made more appearances at games as his daughters became bigger fans.
“Kobe always showed up for us. He was there before 2015. He continued to be there after 2019.” - U.S. Soccer WNT
Most importantly, he coached his daughter Gianna’s middle school basketball team. He took great pride in how he worked with the parents of every player on the team to foster a hardworking bunch focused on strengthening their fundamentals.
Across the greater L.A. area, Kobe created a multi-sport training facility dedicated to kids where his daughter’s team among others could individually workout or receive personalized coaching.
To Kobe, being a GirlDad was a gift. A gift worth talking about and sharing.
The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do. - Kobe Bryant
Thank you, Kobe. For gifting us basketball junkies with highlights and moments that will live eternally. For bestowing us with your leadership and wisdom. For having the undying belief in your ability to be the best version of you. For making us strive for more, and for inspiring me to be the best version of what I can be.
Mamba Mentality forever. ♾
Would love to hear your thoughts or favorite Kobe stories. Thanks for reading as always. Until next time.
This is such a great article. I love how you talked so much about Kobe outside of basketball. Too many people aren't aware of the person away from the game and I think you did a great job of highlighting that. He truly is someone that a lot of people can learn from. One thing that always stuck with me is the idea of happiness and how to achieve it and I think Kobe did a great job in talking about that. Kobe had all the money in the world, had an amazing job, was admired by so many, was one of the greatest winners of all time and the list goes on and on. Yet, when he'd talk about happiness, he always preached that it wasn't about the end goal, but it was about the beauty in the journey. The journey itself is where you find happiness and not in the result. I think that's incredibly telling coming from a person who has it all and that has always really resonated with me.
Great article!