How I Will Remember Kobe Bryant: The Man of Sacrifice
“There’s a choice that we have to make as people…We can all become masters of our craft, but you have to make a choice. What I mean by that is the inherent sacrifices that come along with that. Being a great friend, son, nephew, there are sacrifices that come along with making that choice.”
- Kobe Bryant
Today I reflect on the life and legacy of a man I never knew but nonetheless is very close to my heart, Kobe Bryant. As a child basketball became my favorite sport because I watched him play it. In my generation, he made the game. Basketball was the coolest sport out there because of him. He was the greatest athlete regardless of the forum. Back then I thought it all came easy for him. That his talent is what made him so special to watch. As I grew older, I appreciated what he was doing out there even more. Talent had nothing to do with the legacy of Kobe Bryant. I remember him not merely as a basketball legend, but a man who set an admirable example of determination, discipline, courage, and unparalleled commitment to his craft.
Before Becoming a Master of the Game
Kobe wasn’t particularly tall or of a great build. At 6’6’’ and 210 lbs, he was just average by professional basketball standards. Kobe was also never particularly talented in the sport as a child. At age 12, Kobe participated in his first basketball summer camp. Throughout the course of the summer, in all games he played, he scored 0 points. Zero! The ENTIRE camp. That’s not natural talent, that’s a failure. But Kobe didn’t quit at failure, and this is what separated him from the rest.
“I would channel my failure as fuel to keep my competitive fire burning.” – Kobe Bryant
Kobe had heroes of his own he looked up to for encouragement. It was through reading Michael Jordan’s experience being cut from his high school team that gave him the motivation to keep with the sport, to not quit as he considered, and to push through his present failure. Jordan then, without even knowing him, touched his life by the example he set. And for Kobe, returning back to the game, it wasn’t just about avoiding the embarrassment of putting up a zero again.
“I wasn’t just determined to never have a summer of zero again, I was driven to inflict the same sense of failure on my competition as they unknowingly inflicted on me.”
- Kobe Bryant
The Sacrificial Road to Mastering the Game
Kobe didn’t get to where he did because he wanted to be middle of the road, avoid negative attention, good. He decided basketball would be his focus and he made it his passion to be the best he could possibly be at it. This is where his work ethic began. The 4 am wake ups, the 5 am to 7 pm practices. The 1 on 1 games with teammates to 100 pts AFTER everything else he had to do. He wasn’t satisfied with the status quo. He didn’t stop at what he was obligated to do. He set his own standards for himself. Chose the way of sacrifice and discipline over comfort every day. He never lost focus but remained consistent with the ever-increasing demands he placed on himself. And this focus he had outstretched the basketball court.
“The game became part of my nature. Everything I saw, heard, read, or felt was viewed through the lens of growing as a basketball player. This perspective makes me curious about everything, makes everything interesting, and means that life is a living library where all I need to do is pay attention.”
-Kobe Bryant
He developed a singular focus for his life and he made sure everything else added to that mission, that it fed the passion he held for his craft. He fell in love with the pursuit.
A love so deep I gave you my all —
From my mind & body
To my spirit & soul.Kobe Bryant - “A letter to Basketball”
Using body, mind, spirit, and soul together, he pushed himself past the limits of each to a greater potential as one. That is what enabled him to work harder than anybody else and to keep pursuing that gap between him and ultimate perfection in his craft. That’s what led him to score more points in the next summer league. What got him on his high school basketball team. What made him the best on that team and what got him drafted into the NBA straight out of his high school team. These are all amazing accomplishments and I’m sure he was elated at each one, but for Kobe these were never good enough. For him, it was never about any single accomplishment. There was no ultimate accomplishment for his life he had in mind. No end in sight when he sweated through another grueling self-imposed practice. After each one of these accomplishments, he went back the very next morning to the same monotonous and disciplined routine that got him there. He woke up early, he worked out harder than anybody else, and he pushed himself harder than he did the day before.
“If you really want to be great at something, you have to truly care about it, if you want to be great in a particular area, you have to obsess over it. A lot of people say they want to be great but are not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness.”
“That’s where obsession comes in — when you care about something 24 hours a day.”
- Kobe Bryant
He found his joy in the process, not the accomplishments.
"Those times when you get up early and you work hard, Those times you stay up late and you work hard. Those times when you don't feel like working. You're too tired. You don't want to push yourself, but you do it anyway. That is actually the dream."
– Kobe Bryant
The NBA and Stardom
Once in the NBA, Kobe didn’t settle down one bit. He didn’t consider himself as having ‘made it’. Instead, he turned his intensity and hard-work up a notch. He studied gameplay, opponents, and himself. Anything he could do to get a little bit better he did. When Allen Iverson, one of his biggest competitors at the time, scored 41 points on him he got back up the next morning and pushed harder.
“I obsessively read every article and book I could find about AI (Allen Iverson). I obsessively watched every game he had played, going back to the IUPU All-American Game. I obsessively studied his every success, and his every struggle. I obsessively searched for any weakness I could find. I searched the world for musings to add to my AI Musecage. This led me to study how great white sharks hunt seals off the coast of South Africa.”
-Kobe Bryant
The next game his team would play against Allen Iverson, Kobe was assigned to guard him at the half. Going into that half Iverson had 16 points, he finished the game with just those 16 points. Kobe became the best in a league of the best. But his work wasn’t finished yet. He was never singularly focused on competing with others, present or past, or chasing after what others deemed was great. Only he knew the potential he held within, what greatness was truly possible for him. In faith, he believed there was no limit to what he could do. This wasn’t irrational thinking greatness would somehow fall upon him unexpectedly, but that that through his hard work and dedication he could do more than anybody else believed was possible for him–as it was only he knew the work he was putting into the game.
“I’m going to be the number one scorer for the Lakers, I’m going to win five or six championships, and I’m going to be the best player in the game.’”
- Kobe Bryant, a rookie, to, future hall of famer,Gary Payton
All-Time Master of the Game
Kobe did exactly what he set out to do and more. He went on to be the number one scorer in the entire league, twice! He was awarded the most valuable player in the league. He won his first championship and then 4 more. He became a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He had hall of fame status secured even while he was still playing. He did all of this through his unwavering dedication and focus on his craft. He showed up first to practice every day, even when injured. He worked harder than anybody else at practice, even after 3 or 4 hours alone in the gym before. He did nothing without his full focus and commitment behind it. For Kobe, workouts were never just about checking off the next ‘to-do’ on his list. Every drill, every move, and every shot counted and meant something to him. He performed each with precision and intensity in the singular aim of getting better. Even when at the top of the league he never was content. His relentless work ethic was contagious. Former Olympian teammate, Carlos Boozer, noted how after time the entire Olympic basketball team developed Kobe’s workout routine. Even surrounded by the greats he inspired better in them. He walked the walk and others had to follow him or else they’d be trampled by him come the next game. Some players come out only when the spotlight is on, Kobe outshined them all because he outworked them all when no one was looking.
“No one would have any idea that he’s been in the gym working for three-to-four hours”
-Teammate Tony Gaffney
Kobe achieved some unimaginable feats. To him, these were only marks along the path of a much greater journey. A journey he would never stop pursing. A journey to be his best. This ongoing pursuit of his didn’t stop when he retired from basketball. His craft had to change but his intensity and commitment wouldn’t. There is no stopping Kobe Bryant. Though he is gone his legacy will live on. It pushes others around the world to be better in their craft. To adopt his ‘mamba mentality’–not focused on the results alone but the journey to be your best. Just like the story of Jordan pushed him forward now he pushes us. Not by his dunks, his buzzer beaters, or his championship titles but through his example. As a man unwilling to settle at anything less than his fullest potential. This too is what he wants for others.
“I liked challenging people and making them uncomfortable. That’s what leads to introspection and that’s what leads to improvement. You could say I dared people to be their best selves.”
– Kobe Bryant
So, how do you remember Kobe Bryant?
“To think of me as a person that’s overachieved, that would mean a lot to me. That means I put a lot of work in and squeezed every ounce of juice out of this orange that I could.”
- Kobe Bryant
This is how I will remember Kobe. As someone who poured himself out till the very end, on and off the court. He gained a lot from his hard work, but none of it meant more to him than what it brought to others.
“When I see people talk about finding inspiration in the mamba mentality, it makes all my hard work, all the sweat, all the 3am wakeups, feel worth it”
– Kobe Bryant
Kobe was beginning a second act that may very well have been better than his first. Kobe was only human, he shot airballs, made selfish plays (on and off the court), got injuries, drank Corona’s ( and found three hours later covered in sweat after a morning work out), ate pepperoni pizza (later to score 81 points in Toronto) experienced doubt (even in his core decision to play basketball), asked forgiveness, had regrets, and suffered numerous other personal failures, but as he grew into a more well-rounded player he also grew into a better man. He never let a single failure hold him back from striving to be better tomorrow. He knew perfection wasn’t possible for any of us but that we could always get closer to it. Fully present in the moment while also affixed on growth. He remained steadfast on the enduring race that is being your best, and he poured himself out on it till the very end. In professional life and in personal life.
“I’ve seen the guy go for 81. I’ve seen him hit all kinds of buzzer beaters. I’ve seen him win gold medals and championship rings. But I’ve still never seen him look as happy, in those big moments on the court, as he looked the other day off of it: with an arm around Gigi, sitting courtside, and just….. talking. Kobe.. knew that his life was only as important as the love he had for the people in it.”
- Derek Jeter
Growing out of that young star who had it all right out of high school, he realized the importance of family, of balance in life, and of giving back. He wrote to his 17-year-old self:
“Use your success, wealth and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose. Put them through school, set them up with job interviews and help them become leaders in their own right. Hold them to the same level of hard work and dedication that it took for you to get to where you are now, and where you will eventually go.”
- Kobe Bryant
And he was living by that wisdom he came to in growth. He dedicated his new-found time to others, becoming a better father and husband, and passing his basketball know-how onto the younger generation of players.
“It doesn’t matter where you go, it matters more what you do when you get there.”
- Kobe Bryant to, up and comer, Buddy Hield on draft day.
This is the Kobe I admire and the one I will remember most. The Kobe that inspires me to be the best I can be wherever I find myself.
RIP Kobe – It’s our turn, as your fans, to carry on your enduring spirit of hard work and dedication to our crafts. Thank you for the inspiration and example you have set for us, and, of course, some of the best basketball we’ll ever see.