Question

“Dear Basketball" by Kobe Bryant Analysis

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Kobe says that basketball "asked for his hustle", but he "gave his heart because it came with so much
more". What could his heart give to the game of basketball that his hustle could not?

Answer 1

He describes basketball as asking him for his “hustle.” Instead, he gave the sport his heart. The speaker worked hard because he wanted to do the game justice. He wanted to show his love for the sport because that's “what you do / When someone makes you feel as / Alive” as basketball made him feel.