shakespeare has nothing on kobe bryant

By: Jonathan Illuzzi

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Shakespeare’s poignant words are poetic genius, as they have been for hundreds of years. In one of the most beautifully constructed wordings from Macbeth, it is rather ironic that a passage about the brevity and futility of time, of life, is still kept alive today when readers, some, maybe all, at one point or another question life’s meaning and purpose.

Macbeth is justified in his nihilistic rumination: the battle he is set to face, and lose, in his external world parallels the quickness of which his internal world has fallen apart. He has just received word of his wife’s death. Any hope of retaining his kingship, and sanity for that matter, has been dashed by his own ambition and need for power. 

For Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the metaphor is apt: once the illuminating brief candle of life is extinguished, the eternal darkness that awaits is all that’s left. 

If only Shakespeare could have met Kobe Bryant.

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Four years after the NBA legend and global icon’s death in January 2020 due to a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and eight others, Bryant’s wife Vanessa and the Los Angeles Lakers unveiled the first of three bronze statues Thursday, Feb. 8 immortalizing Bryant’s legacy. 

The statue features Bryant with a finger pointed to the sky, modeled after a picture of him walking off the court following his 81-point performance against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. At 19 feet tall and 4,000 pounds, it is a fitting tribute to Bryant, whose presence on and off the court always felt larger than life. 

On the statue is an etched quote from Bryant that continues to speak volumes: “Leave the game better than you found it. And when it comes time for you to leave, leave a legend.” 

Take note, Macbeth. 

Bryant’s message offers a sharp and necessary contrast to Shakespeare’s soliloquy. The beauty of Bryant’s words clearly rests in the powerful metaphor, the prevailing sense that despite life being temporary, we all have the ability to make an impact, to know that any role we play in life isn’t necessarily meaningless once our time is up. 

And though Bryant was ultimately praised for his ambition, Macbeth’s tragic flaw, it was Bryant’s approach and understanding of life that we continue to emulate and celebrate. Bryant’s life continues to teach future generations that there is meaning in being prepared, tenacious, fearless, possessing a strong work ethic, and not settling for status quo. 

Bryant is not, of course, the first, nor will he be the last, to possess these traits. They were thrust into the national spotlight because of his on-stage performance, but ultimately solidified and revered by his body of work off the NBA stage, most evident in his leadership of programs and pursuits that continue to help children in under-resourced communities. 

In this way, Bryant’s flame has never gone out, a noticeable rebuke of Macbeth’s lamenting.

While Shakespeare’s works and words have stood the test of time, perhaps it’s another famous storyteller, NBA Hall-of-Fame legend and longest-standing social justice athlete-activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, whose words about Bryant we should consider when it comes to defining our own meaning and purpose for life:

“This statue may look like Kobe,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “But really it’s what excellence looks like, what discipline looks like, what commitment looks like, what love of family looks like. The statue is a wonderful contribution. It captures a person frozen in time, while at the same time acknowledges that the reason there is a statue in the first place is because that person is timeless.”

Step aside, Macbeth.