It’s no surprise Kobe Bryant left an impact on numerous people around the sports world. And Devin McCourty opened up about the late NBA legend left his mark on the 2018 Patriots.
The New England safety published a piece in The Players’ Tribune on Tuesday and wrote about a passionate speech Bryant delivered to the Pats before the 2018 season kicked off.
(McCourty did say he was paraphrasing a bit because it’s “been a while.”)
“Everybody keeps talking about my (expletive) legacy — 20 years in L.A., five titles — and how great all that is. But I don’t give a damn about that,” McCourty recounted Bryant saying. “My legacy is my kids. It’s not what I did during my 20 years in L.A., it’s what I do in the next 20 years. That’s what people are going to remember me for. That’s what they’re going to talk about forever.”
McCourty said it was an “inspiring” message. But his biggest takeaway from it all “was something he said near the end of his talk.”
“He spoke about how he had to learn to be great at basketball, but then he had to learn to be a great dad at the same time,” McCourty wrote. “He talked about taking the same energy that he chased championships with, then going home and giving that same kind of energy to his wife and kids.
“… For me, it really is all about family.”
Bryant, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others, were killed in a helicopter crash in January in California.
It’s clear McCourty took Bryant’s message to heart, especially when it came time to talk family.
