"For 20 seasons, Kobe showed us what is possible when remarkable talent blends with an absolute devotion to winning," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement Sunday."He was generous with the wisdom he acquired and saw it as his mission to share with future generations of players."Bryant diversified his career by breaking into the investing world even before leaving the NBA. In 2013, he co-founded venture capital firm Bryant Stibel along with Web.
"You've got to have strong entrepreneurs, that's really the key for us is looking at the people," Bryant said in an interview with CNBC in September."Yes, it's important to see those returns, right? But it's also important to have great opportunity, great relationships with our investors, great opportunities with our entrepreneurs to help them grow and put them in situations where they can be successful.
"When Kobe puts his stamp of approval on something and really gets behind you as a partner, the world of sports and everyone across the spectrum of the sports industry takes note and you're suddenly validated in a way that most startups just don't experience until much further on," skincare brand Art of Sport founders Brian Lee and Matthias Metternich said in a statement about the company's development prior to Sunday on Bryant Stibel's website.
Bryant first signed a deal with Nike in 2003. He was one of an elite group of NBA players who signed with the brand that year, including LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. That helped the shoe company solidify its position in the basketball world for the next couple decades following Michael Jordan's 2003 retirement.
Nike held a"Mamba Day" to honor the retirement of the celebrated but controversial athlete in 2016. Nike stuck with Bryant even after he was charged in late 2003 with the sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman. The case was dropped a year later after the woman declined to testify, and Bryant apologized for his behavior though he always maintained the interaction was consensual and he had not broken the law.