Kobe Bryant’s Enduring Legacy of Mentorship
In the early morning hours of Jan. 26th, 2020 preceding his tragic death in a helicopter accident that claimed 8 other lives including his daughter Gianna, Kobe Bryant took a quick moment to message his mentee, Shareef O’Neil. The message was:
“You good fam?”
Kobe understood that the young O’Neil was processing through the difficulty of making a decision on his next career steps after deciding to transfer from UCLA. The NBA legend appreciated that a young star on the rise needed his encouragement and also that it was important to be proactive as a mentor and check-in with Shareef.
Kobe’s journey as a mentor began long before he exited the NBA and the stories of him challenging players to be the best version of themselves has now become the stuff of legends. One famous exchange was back in 2017 when the Milwaukee Bucks player, Giannis Antetokounmpo inquired about whether Kobe had a challenge for him. Kobe laid out the challenge in three letters: MVP. When Antetokounmpo accomplished this challenge, Bryant replied with one simple word: Champion.
The list of players who benefited from Kobe’s mentorship in basketball and other sports is far too long to list, but suffice it to say that the results of Kobe’s mentorship are almost as astonishing as his own record of play on the field. In 2016 the NBA players Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving & Russell Westbrook all worked with Kobe during the off season. The spectacular results were captured in the following tweet. Kobe also served as a mentor to famous Tennis player, Novak Djokovic and WNBA star Candace Parker.
Kobe’s legacy as a mentor is owing in great part to a number of different factors, not the least of which includes that when he was drafted into the league he was 17 years old and quickly understood the importance of mentors. The list of Bryant’s mentors included the likes of Lakers GM Jerry West, Coach Phil Jackson, Dr. Patrick Soon Shiong and of course the legendary Michael Jordan.
It turns out that Kobe Bryant himself was constantly in pursuit of mentors to help him level up his own game in the field of life and business. Kobe took the time after retiring to reach out tech investor, Chris Sacca and seek out his advice on the tech sector and angel investing. Bryant famously said in 2014 that “I love learning from people who take on giants and slay them. I wanted to know how Arianna [Huffington] did what she did, and why.” Kobe demonstrated via his pursuit of mentors that embracing a “Growth Mindset” was a key to becoming a more well rounded professional and fulfilled human being.
Conclusion:
Kobe Bryant’s accomplishments as a five-time NBA champion, Oscar winner, author, two-time Olympic medal winner, entrepreneur, investor and family man will be an enduring part of his record as a truly remarkable human being and athlete. The tireless service of Kobe to others as a mentor will however be the lasting part of his legacy that continues in the countless lives that he impacted.
The NYT columnist David Brooks in his famous book “The Road to Character” described that individuals are often busy chasing what he calls ‘Resume Virtues’ or the skills you bring to the marketplace over ‘Eulogy Virtues’ which are the character traits (honesty, loyalty, patience) that are said about you at your funeral. Kobe did not see the pursuit of these virtues as divergent paths. Kobe Bryant charted a different path in life, one in which he chose to make a mark in the lives others as his first choice and viewed his achievements as a function of that choice to invest in the limitless potential of others.
Very few humans will ever come close to achieving what Kobe Bryant was able to accomplish — - but in his legacy we see that he challenged all of us to step up to serve as mentors and guides in the lives of others. As someone that works in education, I appreciate that a leader like Kobe used his platform to speak to the power of mentorship.
There could be no better example of Kobe’s legacy of mentorship and belief in others than his very last instagram post of 1/25/20 in which he celebrated the fact that Lebron James had surpassed his NBA all-time scoring record. Kobe proudly cheered on his friend:
“On to #2 @kingjames! Keep growing the game and charting the path for the next.”
