Dear Kobe

Originally published April 13, 2016

Dear Kobe,

Thank you.

I can’t believe it’s come this…

On the day of your final game, I can’t help but remember and reflect on the memories and impact you’ve had on my life.

I started watching basketball properly in the 2003-2004 season, the one right after you guys lost to the Pistons after the great 3-year reign at the top. Growing up in Toronto, I obviously started watching the Raptors first but quickly became enamoured with you, one of the best players in the league at the time.

Throughout my life, if you ask anyone that knows me, basketball has always been my favourite sport, and you my favourite athlete. The qualities that you embody and demonstrate have allowed me to become a better person in my life and to say that you’ve made a profound impression on me is an understatement.

Since Shaq left LA after the 2004 season, I remember watching you intently whenever I could. I remember watching you in that 2006 series with the Suns when you dunked over my favourite Canadian athlete Steve Nash and had that crazy game 4 where you tied the game with 0.7 seconds left and then broke the hearts of Suns fans everywhere with that dagger game-winner at the buzzer.

I remember watching you lose to the Celtics in the finals in 2008 in that disastrous game 6. I was sitting in a hotel room in Quebec City on my elementary school grad trip while my friends and I were watching you struggle in that last game. I know that loss was probably one of, if not, the worst loss of your career and that defined you in the years to come. I know that summer you worked harder than ever to destroy the Celtics and anyone who came in your way, and it showed over the next 2 years.

I remember watching you in those 2 finals in 2009 and 2010 when you were on top of the world. That Celtics series in 2010 was probably the best finals I’ve ever seen and I’ll never forget where I was during game 7. I had an exam the next morning and the game was late because it was in LA, but I knew I had to stay up to watch it. I remember it being a defensive battle and you having a terrible shooting night. 6-24; that number will always be ingrained in my head because even though from a field goal shooting perspective, you had an off night, you willed your team to victory and were not going to be stopped. I remember jumping up and down and screaming into a pillow at 1:30 in the morning when that final buzzer sounded because that title felt even sweeter than the one in 2009.

Of course, how could I not talk about my memories with you and my favourite team growing up, the Toronto Raptors. I couldn’t start this without mentioning the famous 81 points. It was a cold January night and we were at a family friend’s house when I watched the greatest single player performance I’ve ever seen on a basketball court. You’ve had some unbelievable games with the Raptors over the years, like the time when you hit 3 ridiculously clutch 3-pointers in a row to send the game to OT, just to dunk on our team at the end to cement the win, or when I was at the ACC when the game went down to the wire and you missed a 30 footer at the buzzer. That was definitely the best game I’ve ever been to in my life, because I remember the crowd being so loud for a regular season game and yet you had a vintage Kobe performance with a chance to take it all at the end.

There are so many more memories that I will never forget, like the time you tied Wilt’s record for most 50 point games in a row or the multiple posterizations of countless defenders who have tried and failed to stop you at the rim. But for me, your game was more than just about memories. It was about how you taught be to become the best person possible by never settling and always striving for greatness.

‘It was about how you taught me to become the best person possible by never settling and always striving for greatness’

***

Ever since I was a little kid, I always knew you were great but never really understood till I was older how much time and work it took to be the best. Everyone can want to be good and there are some who will be great, but it takes someone who is psychotically obsessive to become the best.

You taught me to work hard. When I played basketball in elementary school and high school, there were certain aspects of the game that my coaches always talked about like discipline and self-motivation. They spoke about being the hardest worker in the room and how ‘hard work trumps talent when talent fails to work hard’ (shout out to my ball coaches, Ben and Rudy, for being such an inspiration in my life). But the one athlete that they always spoke about was you. About your stubbornness and your unwillingness to lose. About your drive to be the greatest and how the only thing you see on TV is when you’re playing games but you don’t see the endless hours you put in to be the best. Kevin Durant came out with a great story this week about how one summer with the USA basketball team, you were on a bus with him and Jeff Green and putting up hundreds of shots while everyone else took a day off. This was in the prime of your career but you still were so obsessed with the game that you always knew that you could be better.

Which brings me to my next point; you taught me to never be satisfied. A few years ago, I read a book from MJ’s trainer, Tim Grover, called Relentless that talked about the keys that you, and all the great players, try to embody in order to become the greatest in your field. The biggest thing that stuck with me after reading that book was to never be content with where you are because you can always do better. I remember reading an anecdote about how a few days after you won the Finals, you were back in the gym for 8 hours, bleeding and sweating to become a better player. The first time I read this, I was flabbergasted at how that could be possible because here you have a guy, who is in the prime of his career, who is arguably the best player in basketball, who just won an NBA title, back in the gym working on his shot to become better. Some people might think you’re crazy, but when I read that, I knew why you were the best. You’re never happy with what you have because if you have 1, you could always get 2, and when you have 2, you could always get 3. This is probably one of the best lessons you have taught me because in my life, I’ve tried to teach myself to never be happy with where I am. I know I can always be a better student, a better friend, a better son and a better person and I’m continuously striving everyday to be the best person I can.

The last major lesson I’ve learned from you is to never give up. Now we hear this piece of advice all the time when you watch movies or sports, about how you should never give up and to always get up when you’re down, but I can’t think of an athlete who embraced that mantra more than you. From what I’ve read, you’ve suffered so many injuries in your career but yet you’ve always been able to play through pain and not let it bother you. I mean how the hell do you shoot two free throws with a torn Achilles when Lebron gets carried off with a cramp and Pierce gets wheelchaired out an NBA finals game. So many people doubted you’re come back, especially with athletes in the past like Isiah Thomas not fully coming back to normal after such a major injury like that, but I always knew you could do it. You’ve always been the hardest worker in the room and this was just another challenge in your illustrious career that you absolutely smashed. First one in the gym and last one out. His entire career.

***

I never thought in my life that a 17-year-old kid from the streets of Philadelphia would grow up to be the biggest inspirational athlete of my life. You’ve given me more than just memories; you’ve taught me how to become a successful human being and for that I am forever indebted.

Watching so many great players throughout my childhood like Steve Nash, Allen Iverson, Shaq, and T-Mac, there was no one I respected or loved more than you. I know when I wake up tomorrow, a part of my childhood will be gone because I will never get to see you play professional basketball again.

So while I see you lace it up one last time tonight, I know that like millions of other fans around the world, I’m going to be sad and most likely crying knowing that this is the last game you’re ever going to play.

Trailblazer, Leader, and Inspiration.

So to Mr. Kobe ‘Bean’ Bryant, thanks for the memories, but most importantly, thanks for being great.

Sincerely,

Anish

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