“I think it’s going to be difficult for him,” TNT analyst Charles Barkley said Thursday in an interview with Sporting News and another reporter. “Kobe doesn’t have a college degree, and you can only go to so many business meetings.”
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We can cross coaching off the list of possibilities. Earlier this season, Bryant said he didn’t want to deal with a bunch of divas. Playing baseball like Michael Jordan? Kobe laughed at the suggestion at All-Star media availability on Friday, before delivering an emphatic no. A business mogul? We know Bryant has a habit of cold calling successful people.
Perhaps a career in broadcasting? He has been a frequent guest on TNT’s “Inside The NBA” — starring Barkley and former Lakers teammate Shaquille O’Neal — and one of the show’s analysts put out a recruiting pitch Thursday.
“There’s a fifth seat,” TNT’s Kenny Smith said. “Can you believe Shaq, Charles, Kobe, myself and Ernie (Johnson, the host) going to any city? We’d be bigger than the game. We’re must-see TV now, but if Kobe joined us, we’d need a sitcom and to be on five days a week.”
All of the retired players-turned-broadcasters who spoke with Sporting News agreed that Bryant’s knowledge of the game and candidness would make him an ideal candidate to transition into television. But TNT/NBA TV’s Brent Barry, who played 14 seasons and retired after the 2008-09 season, cautions choosing a next career path for anyone, simply because every individual has to actually deal with retirement first in order to know exactly what they want to do.
“It’s very individual, what happens to you,” Barry said. “It’s almost like dealing with a death in your own private world. Everybody compensates in different ways.” Barry always knew he wanted to get into broadcasting, and leaned on his brother Jon (who retired a few years before Brent) and father Rick — who both played in the NBA and became NBA color commentators — for advice. He’s also kept an open dialogue with Ray Allen and Shane Battier, players who recently stepped away from the game, to share his opinions on how to adjust.
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One advantage, as Barry points out, is that Bryant has had plenty of time to reflect and adjust to life without the day-to-day grind of the NBA season over the past three years, as he’s spent more time recovering from injuries than actually playing on the court. If there’s a silver lining to the accumulation of late career injuries, it’s that Kobe will be more prepared for what’s next. “He knows how much exists in this world beyond basketball,” Barry said. “I think he’s already got something figured out.”
So what will Kobe miss? NBA TV’s Steve Smith recalls a “retirement itch” that lasted for a year and a half after he walked away from the game. During that time, he called up players from the Hawks to play one-on-one and would join leagues to get his competitive juices going. He even challenged his kids to games at home. “You have to find a way,” Smith said, as he itched his arm to illustrate just how pressing the issue was when he retired. “You have to find a medication to scratch that itch.”
Western Conference All-Star coach Gregg Popovich, whose Spurs played the Lakers earlier this week, still sees the same Bryant he’s known for years. “He’s got the same fire, the same competitiveness, he still wants to destroy his opponents. He’s been like that from day one. It hasn’t changed, because that’s who he is,” Popovich said.
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If Bryant can’t transfer those competitive juices into another domain, is it possible he will make a comeback? Michael Jordan did so with the Washington Wizards. We’ve seen other players try and extend their careers after walking away. If not the NBA, perhaps we might see Kobe playing basketball in China, where he is idolized. Kenny Smith doesn’t think so.
“Physically, you see things that you can’t do anymore,” Smith said. “It’s not like your mind doesn’t understand what’s happening. It’s just your body isn’t allowing you to make those split second decisions.” Kobe has talked about how physically draining it is for him to simply prepare for game days this season as he ages into his 40s. He definitely won’t miss that part, but there’s other parts of the game that might make him itch.
“You miss the camaraderie of the teammates, the conversations on the bus and in the locker room,” Smith said. That’s why getting into broadcasting might feel like the ideal choice for Kobe. He would remain in the game of basketball in a different capacity, be able to openly express himself, be in a locker room environment again, share his knowledge of the game, and not have to deal with the physical stress of playing.
Bryant has not given any hints as to what he will do after his last game in the NBA. Whether he’s keeping things under wraps, still weighing options, or has no idea whatsoever, it’s anybody’s guess.
Asked about what his first day after retirement will be like on Friday, Kobe replied, “I’ll probably wake up, have some coffee and go back to sleep. I’ll be okay.”
