The Lakers are back in the NBA Finals (cheaa booii) for the first time since 2010. We’ve been waiting for this for a long ass time. However, lately, it’s got me thinking about Kobe Bryant.
If you know me well, you’d know that I’m one of the biggest Kobe Bryant fans. I’m taking him over any NBA player, past and present. I vividly remember the day I first saw him playing on T.V. I was about six or seven and it was the NBA on NBC, which is still the best intro theme song of all time! I couldn’t tell you who the Lakers were playing, but the guy wearing #8 stuck out to me. I was so amazed by his game; turnaround fade away jump shots, dunks, footwork and his perfect afro. Right then and there, I decided that I wanted to be just like him and play basketball.
Basketball has been something that’s been apart of my life since the age of 7. I started playing in Mosholu Montefiore Community Center in a kids league. The team names were named after different sodas. I was on Team Sprite and we dominated everyone (I think that’s why I love it so much to this day). My only other memory of that league was when I dunked on the 8 foot rim and they immediately stopped the game. Everyone was so shocked. Shit, so was I. Kobe dunked all the time, so I thought I’d just do what he did. Subsequently, they moved me the older age group of 8-9 year olds that played on the regulation height basket. It was a bit tougher, but I still enjoyed myself.
As I got older and fell in love with the game more, I was so intrigued with everything Kobe did and the work that he put in to get to the point he was at. I pretty much watched Kobe highlights everyday, trying to take everything I could from him. I may not have ever done EXACTLY what he did in games because my coaches would’ve killed me, but I could take his intangibles. I was never the most talented player, but I would do my very best to outwork every single person I played against. It was all I knew. Kobe did the same.
When he passed earlier this year along with his daughter and nine others, I was heartbroken, like the rest of the world. It prompted me to watch one of my favorite documentaries, MUSE, in which Kobe showed us his life and his “human” side. If you haven’t watched it, I highly recommend it. Another thing it did was force me to look for moments of Kobe that made me smile. One of them was the Kobe System.
The Kobe System were a series of short commercials in 2012, where Kobe was teaching famous stars how to be like him. At the end of each clip he’d just say ‘You’re welcome’ without having said much and everyone’s mind would be blown. My favourite was with Kanye West (here), where Kobe asked him a weird question; ‘Are you a different animal and the same beast?’ Kanye was puzzled, and rightfully so because the question made no sense in the moment. It was only this year that I kind of figured out what it could be interpreted as.
Throughout our lives we work hard at trying to achieve a main work related goal. Once we achieve this goal, we then work at staying consistently good at it for a period of time. For some, after a certain point, they feel like a new challenge or goal is needed to keep their sense of purpose because the first choice wasn’t the right fit. It might not always be with work; sometimes it could be with a certain hobby that you want to get better at or a new one that you want to take up.
The new challenges that we choose to embark on are the “different animals”. We all face those questions of ” Is it the right choice?” Or “Can I actually do this?”, which are completely normal. You wouldn’t be human if there wasn’t some doubt. But, also remember you’re the “same beast” that went out an accomplished that first purpose of yours. So all the time and energy you put into your first job, performance, game, etc. use that same mentality while completing your new venture. It’ll take some time, but you’ll definitely get there. Just remember the Kobe System.
Peace and blessings.
CB
Conroy's Cosy Corner 