After Game 5 of the 2009 Finals vs. the Celtics, the Lakers were one win from the title and the room wanted a moment. Kobe didn’t give them one. Asked if he was happy, he said there was nothing to be happy about because the job wasn’t finished. He had already played the game. He was already looking at the next one. That was how he treated the rest of it too. Most players want the result. He organized his days around the work that might produce it. Drafted out of high school, he spent two decades with Los Angeles and treated preparation like the actual job. The games were just where that work showed up. Five championships, Finals MVP twice, an MVP, 18 All-Star appearances. When the uniform came off, the standard didn’t. Storytelling, business, coaching, fatherhood. The short film about leaving the game won him an Academy Award. He just kept moving the same attention somewhere new. - @crssd for more basketball content! - @higherform_