“Kobe Bryant dead? That can’t be." Kobe Bryant’s death affected those people who knew him when he was a kid differently than it affected anyone else. It's not that Kobe’s Lakers teammates or his friends from the NBA weren’t profoundly saddened by his death but the connection between Kobe and people like Jeremy Treatman and his high school coach Gregg Downer and his classmates and teammates from Lower Merion High School was something else entirely.




With two years of distance from his death, we can see more clearly what we ought to take away from Kobe's life and his career. We see the value of passion. And determination. And an unwavering belief in yourself. We see his singular and blinkered focus on becoming the best — and his resolute willingness to work as hard and as long as he needed to to achieve it. We see how the people around him fostered and encouraged that focus. And we see the cost of that focus: the entitlement, the self-centeredness. And we see that that cost can be steep.




We see, most of all, the everlasting effect that Kobe Bryant had and still has, on the people who knew him. For them, he’ll never really be gone. He’ll always be there: his scowl, his smile, his breathtaking talent, his relentless desire and tireless will, the kid he had been, the man he was becoming. Forever.




Purchase Mike Sielski's related book: “The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality": TheRiseOfKobeBook.com




Join the conversation about “I Am Kobe” on social media: on Twitter and Instagram: @diversionpods




Our theme music is “Create Yourself” by Grover Braam feat. Justin Starling: Listen to Create Yourself on Spotify




Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK




“I Am Kobe” is a production of Diversion Podcasts in association with iHeartRadio. This season is written and hosted by Mike Sielski. Produced by Jacob Bronstein and directed by Mark Francis. Story editing by Jacob Bronstein with editorial direction from Scott Waxman. Editing, mixing, and sound design by Mark Francis. Production Assistant: Stephen Tompkins. Music Supervisor: Scott Velasquez for Frisson Sync. Executive Producers: Mark Francis and Scott Waxman. 




Thanks to Oren Rosenbaum, Susan Canavan, and Jeremy Treatman.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

“Kobe Bryant dead? That can’t be." Kobe Bryant’s death affected those people who knew him when he was a kid differently than it affected anyone else. It's not that Kobe’s Lakers teammates or his friends from the NBA weren’t profoundly saddened by his death but the connection between Kobe and people like Jeremy Treatman and his high school coach Gregg Downer and his classmates and teammates from Lower Merion High School was something else entirely. With two years of distance from his death, we can see more clearly what we ought to take away from Kobe's life and his career. We see the value of passion. And determination. And an unwavering belief in yourself. We see his singular and blinkered focus on becoming the best — and his resolute willingness to work as hard and as long as he needed to to achieve it. We see how the people around him fostered and encouraged that focus. And we see the cost of that focus: the entitlement, the self-centeredness. And we see that that cost can be steep. We see, most of all, the everlasting effect that Kobe Bryant had and still has, on the people who knew him. For them, he’ll never really be gone. He’ll always be there: his scowl, his smile, his breathtaking talent, his relentless desire and tireless will, the kid he had been, the man he was becoming. Forever. Purchase Mike Sielski's related book: “The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality": <a href="https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/the-rise/">TheRiseOfKobeBook.com</a> Join the conversation about “I Am Kobe” on social media: on Twitter and Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diversionpods/">@diversionpods</a> Our theme music is “Create Yourself” by Grover Braam feat. Justin Starling: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/532dT5dK1qu37kj79MfPT0?si=7ad398328205411b">Listen to Create Yourself on Spotify</a> Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK “I Am Kobe” is a production of Diversion Podcasts in association with iHeartRadio. This season is written and hosted by Mike Sielski. Produced by Jacob Bronstein and directed by Mark Francis. Story editing by Jacob Bronstein with editorial direction from Scott Waxman. Editing, mixing, and sound design by Mark Francis. Production Assistant: Stephen Tompkins. Music Supervisor: Scott Velasquez for Frisson Sync. Executive Producers: Mark Francis and Scott Waxman.  Thanks to Oren Rosenbaum, Susan Canavan, and Jeremy Treatman. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Webby Award winner and People's Voice winner for Best Sports podcast! How did Kobe Bryant craft the passion, the determination, and the strength to become a legend? This remarkable series reveals intimate, never-before-heard tapes of Kobe as a teenager, exploring his thoughts, his dreams, and his goals. Philadelphia journalist Mike Sielski tells the story of Kobe Bryant’s early years, weaving together these tapes and speaking with Kobe's high school coaches, his friends, his family, and the figures who knew him in his youth, to paint an enthralling documentary portrait of the making of an icon. Before he was an outsized global basketball celebrity for the Los Angeles Lakers, a 5-time NBA champion, an 18-time All-Star, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker, a children’s-book author, a husband, a father, and sometimes a lightning rod for controversy, Kobe Bryant was a kid from Philadelphia. Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK

Webby Award winner and People's Voice winner for Best Sports podcast! How did Kobe Bryant craft the passion, the determination, and the strength to become a legend? This remarkable series reveals intimate, never-before-heard tapes of Kobe as a teenager, exploring his thoughts, his dreams, and his goals. Philadelphia journalist Mike Sielski tells the story of Kobe Bryant’s early years, weaving together these tapes and speaking with Kobe's high school coaches, his friends, his family, and the figures who knew him in his youth, to paint an enthralling documentary portrait of the making of an icon. Before he was an outsized global basketball celebrity for the Los Angeles Lakers, a 5-time NBA champion, an 18-time All-Star, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker, a children’s-book author, a husband, a father, and sometimes a lightning rod for controversy, Kobe Bryant was a kid from Philadelphia. Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK

I Am Kobe

Webby Award winner & People's Voice winner for Best Sports Podcast. How did Kobe Bryant craft the passion, the determination, and the strength to become a legend? This remarkable series reveals intimate, never-before-heard tapes of Kobe as a teenager, exploring his thoughts, his dreams, and his goals. Philadelphia journalist Mike Sielski tells the story of Kobe Bryant’s early years, weaving together these tapes and speaking with Kobe's high school coaches, his friends, his family, and the figures who knew him in his youth, to paint an enthralling documentary portrait of the making of an icon. Before he was an outsized global basketball celebrity for the Los Angeles Lakers, a 5-time NBA champion, an 18-time All-Star, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker, a children’s-book author, a husband, a father, and sometimes a lightning rod for controversy, Kobe Bryant was a kid from Philadelphia. Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK

Webby Award winner &amp; People's Voice winner for Best Sports Podcast. How did Kobe Bryant craft the passion, the determination, and the strength to become a legend? This remarkable series reveals intimate, never-before-heard tapes of Kobe as a teenager, exploring his thoughts, his dreams, and his goals. Philadelphia journalist Mike Sielski tells the story of Kobe Bryant’s early years, weaving together these tapes and speaking with Kobe's high school coaches, his friends, his family, and the figures who knew him in his youth, to paint an enthralling documentary portrait of the making of an icon. Before he was an outsized global basketball celebrity for the Los Angeles Lakers, a 5-time NBA champion, an 18-time All-Star, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker, a children’s-book author, a husband, a father, and sometimes a lightning rod for controversy, Kobe Bryant was a kid from Philadelphia. Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK

“Kobe Bryant dead? That can’t be." Kobe Bryant’s death affected those people who knew him when he was a kid differently than it affected anyone else. It's not that Kobe’s Lakers teammates or his friends from the NBA weren’t profoundly saddened by his death but the connection between Kobe and people like Jeremy Treatman and his high school coach Gregg Downer and his classmates and teammates from Lower Merion High School was something else entirely.

Remembering Greatness

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f99336f3-0470-4650-931f-ae39005571c5/transcript