Even when it comes to learning to play the piano—which he did by ear. No formal lessons.
Why?Well, he wanted to play "something nice" for his wife, Vanessa.
Mr. and Mrs. Mamba have faced their fair share of tests in their 15 years of marriage, the series of trials well-documented by ESPN's Ramona Shelburne in her recent piece "Mamba Out."
Below is an excerpt from The Undefeated's story, which details Bryant's devotion to learning Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" on piano for Vanessa in perhaps the most unconventional (yet completely logical) way:
"Sitting down and taking lessons would be too easy," he says.