As a young child, Kobe Bryant liked basketball but he loved soccer. Bryant spent his young years in Italy where is father played professional basketball. The Los Angeles Lakers living legend has never hid the fact, but after passing Michael Jordan on the NBA’s All-Time scoring list, Bryant admits he very well could have given up on the game if not for Michael Jordan.
The Black Mamba reflected on passing his muse this past Sunday night and stated that at 12-years-old, he was seriously considering giving up basketball as he didn’t score a single point in Philadelphia’s Sonny Hill Future League.
“I considered maybe just giving up basketball and just focusing on soccer,” Bryant stated. “Here’s where my respect and admiration for MJ was forged. I learned that he had been cut from his high school team as a freshman; I learned he knew what it felt like to be embarrassed, to feel like a failure”, said Bryant. “But he used those emotions to fuel him, make him stronger, he didn’t quit. So I decided to take on my challenge the same way he did. I would channel my failure as fuel to keep my competitive fire burning. I became obsessed with proving to my family — and more importantly to myself — that I CAN DO THIS.”
To think, two of the greatest players to ever play the sport perhaps never would have even made the NBA had they not followed through and fought against the adversity they were facing.
