Kobe Bryant is trading in Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol for Oprah and Apple Inc. chief design officer Jony Ivy.
No excuse for Kobe Bryant taking $48.5 million from the Los Angeles Lakers
Bloomberg News is reporting that Bryant is on a quest to build a Kobe Inc. empire in the business world, which has prompted him to reach out to moguls as Oprah, Ivy, Nike CEO Mark Parker and Arianna Huffington.
How he contacts them is as interesting as why he contacts them.
"I want to learn more about how they build their business or how they run their companies," Bryant said in a Bloomberg Television interview, promoting his Showtime documentary "Kobe Bryant's Muse." "I cold call Mark Parker all the time -- Jony Ive, Oprah Winfrey, Arianna Huffington... The list goes on and on."
Former Lakers legend Michael Cooper has cancer
Bryant apparently is quite cognizant that the end of his brilliant NBA career is on the verge of ending. The 35-year-old Bryant is entering his 19th season with the Los Angeles Lakers and is signed on for two more years at a total of $48.5 million.
He was criticized roundly for taking as much money from the Lakers as he did, but he has said that he wants a life after basketball and hopes to take his financial success on the court into the business world.
His sales pitch to his advisers works. He told Bloomberg that he's already visited Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., to learn more about the company's business model.
"I spent the day there, talking with Jony and picking his brain about product," Bryant said. "I'm very, very curious about that and understanding that."
He invested in sports drinker maker Body Armor and hired Gatorade vice president Andrea Fairchild to help him with his career after basketball.
Do you think Kobe Bryant will be as successful as Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson during his post-NBA career? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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