Kobe Bryant Says He Doesn't Miss Basketball on 'Good Morning America'

Kobe Bryant, on a promotional tour for his film Dear Basketball, told Good Morning America on Monday that he does not miss playing the sport.

“No, I don’t. It’s crazy,” Bryant said. “I started playing when I was 2. After playing for 20 years in the league, what I have now is—everything I’ve learned from the game, I carry with me to this day. The game has never truly left me. Physically, yes. But emotionally, and the things that I write, all stem from the game. So it’s still a part of me.”

Bryant, 38, retired after a 20-year NBA career last season. He's embarked on multimedia endeavors since his retirement, working to write and produce films. Dear Basketball, his first major release since retirement, released Sunday at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

The six-minute film is based on the poem he wrote for The Players' Tribune when he announced the 2015-16 season would be his last.

“I tried to write it in a very visual way versus simply coming out and saying, ‘This is how I feel,’” he explained. “I tried to put it through story. You see the whole dedication and commitment [of his childhood playing basketball] through rolling my dad’s tube socks. You see it through all the VHS tapes of all the past games. So you can see the growth and see the love.”

Bryant said he hopes to show other athletes that there is a potential for life and happiness after their playing careers end. He said there is a "difference between doing what you do versus understanding that that is not who you are."

 

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