"Dear Basketball" Analysis

“Dear Basketball”

by Kobe Bryant

Connecting the Poet to the Text

Draw

What do you know about Kobe Bryant? Draw or write your response.

Biography (adapted from britannica.com)

Kobe Bryant (8/23/1978-1/26/2020) was a professional basketball player who helped
lead the LA Lakers to five championships. His father was a professional basketball player
who played in the NBA and also played professionally in Italy. Bryant went to school
in Italy and when his family returned to the US, he played high school basketball in
Pennsylvania.

He chose to skip college and go right to the NBA, where he was drafted at the age of 17.
He became the 2nd youngest player in NBA history during his first season in 1996. He
was selected for the All-Star Game in just his second season, and although he
was a star, he had to share that role with his talented teammate Shaquille O’Neal.
They had a sometimes tense relationship, but worked well together and helped
lead the Lakers to 3 consecutive NBA championships by the time Bryant was 23.
Bryant also played on the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s basketball teams in 2008 and
2012.

After facing multiple different injuries in previous years, Bryant retired after the 2015-16
season. He wrote “Dear Basketball” in 2015 and two years later it was turned into
a short film, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
On January 26, 2020, Bryant and his daughter were among 9 people killed in a
helicopter crash on their way to a girls’ basketball game.

Before we read the poem, let’s watch the short film.

Now, let’s read the poem and

answer some questions.

Open Ended

“Dear Basketball”

Dear Basketball,

From the moment

I started rolling my dad’s tube socks

And shooting imaginary

Game-winning shots

In the Great Western Forum

I knew one thing was real:

I fell in love with you.

A love so deep I gave you my all -

From my mind & body

To my spirit & soul.

What lines in this stanza reveal details about Bryant's childhood?

Open Ended

As a six-year-old boy

Deeply in love with you

I never saw the end of the tunnel.

I only saw myself

Running out of one.

And so I ran.

I ran up and down every court

After every loose ball for you.

You asked for my hustle

I gave you my heart

Because it came with so much more.

What do the lines “You asked for my hustle/I gave you my heart mean?”

Open Ended

I played through the sweat and hurt

Not because challenge called me

But because YOU called me. 

I did everything for YOU 

Because that’s what you do 

When someone makes you feel as alive as you’ve made me feel. 

You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream

And I’ll always love you for it.

But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer.

This season is all I have left to give.

My heart can take the pounding

My mind can handle the grind

But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.

What information from the biography on slide 3 connects to these stanzas of the poem? 

Open Ended

And we both know, no matter what I do next

I’ll always be that kid

With the rolled up socks

Garbage can in the corner

:05 seconds on the clock

Ball in my hands

5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1

Love you always,

Kobe 

This poem is written like a letter. What effect does that have on the story? Why might the author have made this choice?

Multiple Choice

Based on what you’ve read in the poem and the biography, what do you think Kobe Bryant’s main motivation was for giving so much of himself to basketball?

• fame & success

• financial security

• the love of the game

• following in his father's footsteps

Open Ended

What is the theme of the poem? 

Identify 2 pieces of evidence from the poem to support your answer. 

You can summarize, paraphrase, or directly quote your evidence.

Categorize

Options (4)

gave details about Bryant's life before basketball with his family

uses imagery & other literary devices to enhance the text

references the hardships Bryant faced in his career

discusses Bryant’s personal relationship with the sport of basketball

Organize these options into the right categories

Biography

"Dear Basketball"

Both texts

Draw

What is your “basketball?”

What do you feel passionate about or love to do? What is something you like to do that makes you feel alive? Is there anything in your life that you couldn’t live without? 

For Bryant, it was basketball. So, what’s your “basketball?” Draw or write your "basketball."