Given his lengthy list of on-court accomplishments, you wouldn’t expect former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant to have too many regrets about his legendary NBA career.
Off the court, however, appears to be a bit of a different story.
In a remorseful letter penned to his 17-year-old self Wednesday on the Players’ Tribune, Bryant opened up about some of his mistakes and offered a handful of life and financial advice.
In the piece, Bryant focused on why it is important to not to simply give his friends and family material things, which, in his mind, helped them in the short-term but ultimately enabled them.
“You love them, and they were always there for you growing up, so it’s only right that they should share in your success and all that comes with it,” Bryant wrote. “So you buy them a car, a big house, pay all of their bills. You want them to live a beautiful, comfortable life, right?
“But the day will come when you realize that as much as you believed you were doing the right thing, you were actually holding them back.”
“You will come to understand that you were taking care of them because it made YOU feel good, it made YOU happy to see them smiling and without a care in the world – and that was extremely selfish of you,” Bryant wrote.
“While you were feeling satisfied with yourself, you were slowly eating away at their own dreams and ambitions. You were adding material things to their lives, but subtracting the most precious gifts of all: independence and growth.”
At the end of his letter, the 37-year-old also offered a warning about letting your parents handle too much of your business, an issue that has affected several athletes in the past.
Bryant told ESPN.com earlier this year that he hasn’t spoke with his parents in over three years due a fallout they had after they tried to auction off his high school memorabilia without his consent.
“The next time I write to you, I may touch on the challenges of mixing blood with business. The most important advice I can give to you is to make sure your parents remain PARENTS and not managers.
“Before you sign that first contract, figure out the right budget for your parents — one that will allow them to live beautifully while also growing your business and setting people up for long-term success. That way, your children’s kids and their kids will be able to invest in their own futures when the time comes.
Your life is about to change, and things are about to come at you very fast. But just let this sink in a bit when you lay down at night after another nine-hour training day.”
The five-time NBA champion retired at the end of the 2015-16 season.
