It’s easy to forget how much of top-level pro sports is a mental game. Kobe was incredibly gifted at the mental game of basketball, maybe the greatest of all ti

It’s easy to forget how much of top-level pro sports is a mental game. Kobe was incredibly gifted at the mental game of basketball, maybe the greatest of all time. There’s an oft-reposted GIF of Matt Barnes faking an inbounds pass right at Kobe’s face, and Kobe not even blinking. I watched him talk about his VC work some last year, and it’s clear that his intelligence and focus translated off the court as well. It’s truly tragic that we will never get to know what else Kobe Bryant could have done with that intelligence and focus.