In what is believed to be his final sit-down interview, Kobe Bryant reflected on his second act since retiring from the NBA — saying that “you got to do what you love.”
The basketball great described coaching his daughter Gianna in addition to a wide-ranging series of projects off the court in a USA Today interview published just three days before they both perished Sunday in a California helicopter crash.
“You got to do what you love to do. I love telling stories,” said Bryant, 41, referring to the 2015 Showtime documentary he oversaw about his life, “Muse,” which he saw as a vehicle to impact a younger generation.
He continued, “I love inspiring kids or providing them with tools that are going to help them.”
Bryant said he spent most of the practices for 13-year-old Gianna’s youth basketball team, which he had coached for two years, teaching fundamentals of the game to the young athletes.
“Coaching youth sports is so important to take very seriously because you’re helping the emotional (development) of young kids,” Bryant said. “So it’s understanding not to be overcritical and understanding that (there) are going to be mistakes.”
The former Laker and Gianna — who was known as GiGi — had been traveling to one of her games at his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks when their helicopter crashed, killing them and seven others, officials said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.
In his final known interview, Bryant appeared to have found comfort in a life away from the NBA, though others weren’t as optimistic for him when he exited the game in 2016.
“‘I don’t know what you want to do when you retire,’” Bryant said, mimicking other’s concerns. “‘You’re going to go through a state of depression. You’re going to have an identity crisis.’ These are all things that were said to me because people were genuinely concerned.”
But Bryant took on so many projects — such as launching his own publishing company and collaborating on a 150-page “Granity Bible,” a book which details his mythical world — that he rarely tuned in to NBA games anymore, the outlet reported.
He said he had more pride in accolades that had nothing to do with his legendary basketball career, such as the Oscar, Sports Emmy and Annie awards for his short film, “Dear Basketball,” which was based on a poem he wrote to announce his retirement.
“They’re at the top for me,” Bryant told the outlet. “It’s not something that was expected. As a kid, you kind of have the goal of winning championships and all these sorts of things. Being in the industry that I’m in now? It wasn’t something that was thought of me winning an Oscar.”
