Dear Kobe,

I was 12 years old when your first championship run was underway. Growing up in Los Angeles, I can still remember the energy that your playoff and championship runs brought to our city. The electricity in the air was palpable. The Laker’s logo was proudly showcased on every corner. Every car had Lakers flags flapping in their windows. You made me realize, for the first time how special it was to be born and raised in Los Angeles. Thank you Kobe.

I was 13 years old when your next championship run was underway. Growing up as tall and pudgy first generation American to a single mother was awkward to say the least. I had never so much as touched a basketball and was far more obsessed with Pokemon and video games. The energy you brought to my city, to my school, to my peers made me grow up. No longer was I spending my middle school lunches alone in the bathroom. I finally had something common to talk about amongst my peers. The Lakers season and the NBA in general. You helped me open up with my peers and end my crushing social anxiety. Thank you Kobe.

I was 14 years old when your third championship run was underway. Night in and night out you led the Lakers and pummeled apposing teams. I now had a social life focused on the Lakers and specifically how dominant your performance from the night prior was. I touched my first basketball and scored my first points and then more and more and more. Who knew that being nearly 6’3 at 14 years old would make me pretty good at basketball? I finally found something I was pretty good at. Something that made me proud of who I was. Thank you Kobe.

I spent the next few of my formative years adoring everything you did. How you handled yourself during legal issues during the day then ruthlessly destroyed opponents in the evening. How you delivered night in and night out regardless of your teammates. Your fire inspired me. Toughened me. No longer would I back down from anyone. Thank you Kobe.

I was 19 years old when you lost to the hated Boston Celtics. I could see the pain in your heart shine through your eyes. Yet, you showed me something incredible. You showed me how to take that pain of losing and use it to fuel yourself. You showed me how to learn from and see beauty in the entire process. The highs and the lows. Thank you Kobe.

I was 20 and 21 when you won your last 2 championships. You showed me what true hunger was. Nobody was starving more for an NBA championship. I could feel that familiar energy pulsing throughout Los Angeles again. That feeling was back. You led not only the Lakers, but all of Los Angeles back to the top. You silenced the critics and showed the world later that year when you became the leader of the super team that was team USA. You were the superhero among heroes for all of America. Thank you Kobe.

I’m now nearly 30 years old, married and am more than a grown man. Life’s responsibilities don’t always allow me to catch every game anymore like I did as a child, but I’ve always known that you were out there every night giving it your all. I’ve watched you come back from injury after injury that would end the average player’s career. You proved that you are the same beast just a different animal. You may not have been scoring 50 per night like before, but you showed that your game was fluid and you were able to adjust to whatever was thrown at you. The one constant among the changing faces of the Lakers. You showed me how to be flexible in life. Thank you Kobe.

Last night, when you officially announced your retirement I broke down. I cried for the first time in a long long time. I knew your retirement was inevitable. There was nothing shocking about it, yet I found my self shaking, unable to move. I’ll never forget where I was the moment I found out. I know the Lakers will inevitably reach the top of the NBA again and win multiple championships, but it will never be the same again. The magic, the intensity, the wisdom that you brought to the team will never be matched. I’m older now and you’ve always been there. I will continue to watch the Lakers, but I will never see them through the same starry rose filter that you allowed me to. It will never ever be the same again.

I have never met you in person yet, you single handedly influenced and formed my life more than any other man. I never had a father, but you showed me how to be a man. You showed me how to be proud of yourself no matter what. You showed me what dedication and hard work really means. You showed me what it means to be hungry and lead a team, something that I carry with me in my professional life. You showed me how to never back down from a challenge. I’ve always thought about any problem that I face as “how would Kobe handle this.” “What beauty is there to learn from this experience?” Nobody can truly understand what you mean to me. Not even you. So I write to you, knowing that I will be drowned out in the millions of other voices of people who were equally touched by you. None the less, I find the burning desire to express myself. To let you know just how much you mean to me. I am so proud of you Kobe Bean Bryant.

Though your professional basketball career is nearly over, I know that your lessons and guidance will continue. I know that you will bring the same fire and work ethic to whatever other ventures you embark on.

Thank you Kobe.

TL;DR

Grew up as tall, pudgy awkward child to a single mother in Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant brought energy to Lakers and shined a light on the sport to me. Helped me find something in common with my peers (basketball). Got me to try and love Basketball which got me to meet and make even more friends. He taught me life lessons that no other man did.