Kobe Bryant Writes Letter to His 17-Year-Old Self for the Players' Tribune

Retired Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant wrote a letter to himself as a 17-year-old on Wednesday.

The piece, published at the Players' Tribune, focused on investing rather than giving.

Bryant explained to young Kobe that buying material items for family and friends was self-serving. It was for him, not them.

"While you were feeling satisfied with yourself, you were slowly eating away at their own dreams and ambitions," he wrote.

But investing is different:

"

Use your success, wealth and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose. Put them through school, set them up with job interviews and help them become leaders in their own right. Hold them to the same level of hard work and dedication that it took for you to get to where you are now, and where you will eventually go.

"

Bryant described the dependence of those around him on his help as an "addiction" he facilitated, which he wrote leads to anger and jealousy. The Black Mamba also advised his former self to plan a budget for his parents before signing that first contract, because life flies by so quickly.

The 37-year-old concluded the piece by writing that following this advice will help avoid "a ton of tears and heartache, some of which remains to this day."

[Players' Tribune]