My Tribute to Kobe Bryant

I obsessed over finding statistics to demonstrate that Kobe Bryant played basketball better than anyone not named Michael Jordan; I obsessed over labeling him “the best basketball player on the planet.” Kobe inspired me more than most others inspired me.

Why Kobe? Actually, I can no longer remember the reason I adored him. It’s like how you remember great speeches for how they made you feel as opposed to their words. I don’t know why I loved the dude; I just know watching and thinking about Kobe made me feel ambitious and amazed.

Now, I don’t care about labels or comparing people. Winning isn’t that important to me, either. Kobe still inspires me, though, just probably for different reasons: his seeming focus and drive to improve himself. A few years ago, I read current NBA player Buddy Hield’s essay, The Secret I Learned from Kobe. Hield had gotten the opportunity to practice with Kobe. They poured themselves into the work for two hours. Before parting ways, Kobe turned to Hield and said, “You know, when I was younger I’d have come back in the afternoon and done the other half of the court.”

I love that. If I need some motivation to focus on my work—or really, to focus on any task I’ve chosen to pursue, however mundane—I can still conjure up an image of Kobe and get a boost.

Once, I nearly purchased his t-shirt jersey. That was in my mid-twenties at a time when I was studying men’s fashion. I didn’t complete the transaction because wearing a shirt imprinted with another man’s name seemed silly. But Kobe died yesterday, and now I wish I’d purchased that shirt so I could honor him.

I’ve been thinking a lot about honor lately. Two weeks ago, my essay about my love for sports published. Really, I think the essay is about how I feel compelled to honor sports for how they helped me when I most needed to be helped. To fully honor sports, I also must keep them in my life. I hope that essay resonated with readers, including those who care little about people who get payed to throw balls.

I think the concept extends to other applications. Like, last week I vacationed with a friend I hadn’t seen in over a year. He and I had bonded over severe illness when we were teens. We sometimes talked until dawn about isolation and fearing telling others about our illnesses. For a decade or more, I needed him. I no longer need him, in a similar way as I no longer need sports, yet I try to maintain our bond, in part to honor what it meant for me when I most needed to be understood.

And so now I write this tidbit about Kobe Bryant, not because I think it's more important than the thousands of other Kobe tidbits you can read, but because I wish to honor what he meant to me at one point in my life.