Kobe Bryant Jersey Retirement Speech

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Rhetorical Analysis of Kobe Bryant’s Jersey Retirement Speech
Introduction
Nobody has aced the craft of remaining focused on their goals and working tirelessly towards them like the legendary icon, Kobe Bryant. He is generally viewed as an extraordinary player compared to other basketball players of all time. He won five NBA championships with the Lakers and drove the NBA in scoring during two seasons. He was a 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, a 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team and 18-time All-Star. He holds the NBA record for the most number of seasons played with a single franchise for a whole career, which is 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers.
In 2018, he got an Academy Award for his animated short film "Dear Basketball." He then started a podcast called 'The Punies' that is meant for kids and tells of morals and history in a really fun and creative manner. Kobe was known for his 'Mamba Mentality', however, it's his huge heart that is admirable. He was continually reinventing himself and continuing to seek to achieve new dreams and challenges in his life.
Kobe Bryant is one of the NBA’s most revered legends, having retired after a stellar career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is famous for his kind demeanor, aggressive attacking play, being a family man and of course, the only player to have had two jersey numbers retired by the Lakers. This paper seeks to discuss a rhetorical analysis of Kobe’s jersey retirement speech as recorded during the decorated ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The jersey retirement ceremony was such a big deal that aside from being televised live to millions of viewers around the globe, many basketball legends, coaches and media personalities, both past, and present, turned up in their numbers to cheer on the 'Black Mamba'. This paper further seeks to identify parts of his speech as a cultural object, in addition to making three relevant claims in the discussion.
First Claim
Kobe Bryant put respect above all else, thus living a life that was proof that having respect breeds getting respect from others in a similar manner. This was echoed as soon as he took the microphone to make his first remarks after the hung jerseys were unveiled in the rafters. Kobe began by stating that the ceremony was not just for him, but rather a milestone achievement for all the other jerseys that were hung in celebration before his and also, the coming generation of legends among the current and future NBA stars.
He reiterated his respect for legends like Michael Jordan, Will Chamberlain, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal who inspired him to give his all in the basketball court. This claim is backed up by the fact that Kobe is known to have accorded respect to other players in opposing teams, respect for the fans and the media. Even opposing players who hoped to beat Kobe in a basketball game spoke highly of him, giving credence to his dedication, team spirit and someone who could inspire a team to victory after victory. Magic Johnson was quoted at an interview when he mentioned that Kobe never cheated on the game of basketball and by extension, he never cheated on his fans. This i...