“Where are your balls at?” - Kobe
I write this today and I’m shocked. He died? I still can’t fathom it. He’s not supposed to die, he’s Kobe, he was only 41. I pictured him sitting courtside at Laker’s games and at WNBA games watching his daughter(s) while he was in his 70’s, cheering and waving that towell. He had such a strong connection to the game of basketball, in Los Angeles and to all sports all over the world, including soccer, tennis, golf and baseball. His favorite player was Messi. He’s the guy I remember taking Brandy to Prom, to destroying the Suns, to wanting to guard MJ, to winning trophy after trophy, to dropping 81 points and 60 on his final game.
He inspires me, he was totally happy in retirement and that wasn’t supposed to happen, not after the career he had. But he was the hardest worker out and he took that to retirement, winning a Grammy, coaching his daughters and turning everything into gold her touched. He was the gold standard, he’s what everyone measured themselves by, he was a work horse, playing through injuries, his only focus was to be the best that he could be.
The thing I’ll remember most is his grind, how bad he wanted it, how dedicated he was. He was all about the hard work, about doing everything you could possibly do to get everything out of that opportunity and be better. He was that rare guy you didn’t want to let down and you wanted that respect from him.
A couple quotes by Kobe that are my favorite and that we can all take into our daily lives:
“If you do not believe in yourself no one will do it for you.”
“Listen to how everyone is talking about you. You have to use it as fuel for motivation.”
“You just stay patient, that’s all.”
“Sports are such a great teacher. I think of everything they’ve taught me: camaraderie, humility, how to resolve differences.”
“You can’t be held captive by the fear of failure or the fear of what people may say.”
“As I sit here now when I take off my shoe and I look down at my scar, I see the beauty in it. I see all the hard work, all the sacrifices. I see the journey that it took to get back to this point of being healthy. And I see beauty in that struggle. That’s what makes it beautiful.”
And in closing, Derek Jeter wrote it best in the Players Tribune https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/derek-jeter-kobe-bryant-tribute
"Kobe just loved being a dad.
And when it comes to his legacy, I really hope we’re able to take the time to remember that as an essential part of it.
Rest in peace to Gianna Bryant. Rest in peace to the other passengers on board.
And rest in peace to Kobe Bryant — who knew that his life was only as important as the love he had for the people in it. Who knew that he was born to play basketball. But it was family over everything."