After hanging their jerseys up for good, most NBA players nowadays enter broadcasting, invest in a lucrative business, or go back to the sidelines as part of a coaching staff. Kobe Bryant, however, is taking the seldom-trekked path of being a content-creator.
He talked about his upcoming book, written three young-adult novels written by fantasy-genre authors. The story will be set in a fictional universe where nothing is real except sports.
If Harry Potter and the Olympics had a baby, that would be the world we're trying to communicate,” Bryant told Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated. “There's fantasy—dreamlike, magical elements—but it's a magic kids can experience.”
Bryant seems to have embraced his new role as a storyteller. Even identifying himself as a “writer” on his Instagram bio.
Article Continues BelowApart from being a five-time NBA champion, league MVP, dropping 81 points, among other basketball milestones, Bryant is also an Academy-award winner for his short documentary “Dear Basketball.” It all goes to show that Bryant's talents extend further than basketball.
Though some may say that it's all a gimmick — a way to earn a living by way off his name and the fame and fortune that goes along with it, it seems that storytelling is something innate in Bryant:
“What I love,” Bryant said one rainy afternoon at the Hilton three years ago, “is storytelling. I love the idea of creative content, whether it's mythology or animation, written or film, that can inspire people and give them something tangible they can use in their own lives.”