Dear Basketball

Bryant’s biography illuminates the poem, which features multiple images of him as a kid wearing his dad’s socks and pretending he’s playing the NBA and has to make the game-winning shot. Bryant’s dad, Joe Bryant, was a professional basketball player and Bryant grew up around basketball, and it was a constant part of his life. By wearing his “dad’s tube socks” (Line 3), he connects himself to his dad’s profession until his fantasy becomes a reality and his dad’s profession becomes his profession. As young Bryant imagines the game-winners taking place at the Lakers’ previous arena, the Great Western Forum, the poem foreshadows Bryant’s long, glorious (and rocky) career as a Laker.

Bryant tells basketball, “I fell in love with you // A love so deep I gave you my all” (Lines 8-9). Bryant’s intense work ethic backs up these claims. He took basketball practices as seriously as basketball games and watched hours of footage to improve his performance. His demanding approach and conduct off the court alienated teammates, coaches, and fans. Thus, there was “[t]he good and the bad” (Line 41).

Throughout his career, Bryant suffered numerous injuries to his ankles, wrists, shoulders, fingers, and so on. The NBA wore down Bryant’s physical capabilities—a sign that Bryant might have to break up with the sport he loved.