Kobe Bryant has been popping up in various places since his retirement. The five-time NBA champion was recently honored as the ESPY’s with the Icon Award and he appeared on the Teen Choice Awards on Sunday to introduce Justin Timberlake, who won the Teen Choice Decade Award.
Kobe is no stranger to the spotlight, and although his basketball career is over he will remain relevant post-retirement. Timberlake quoted the likes of Muhammad Ali during his acceptance speech, but he also credited Kobe for his inspirational work ethic throughout his basketball career.
The nine-time Grammy Award-winning artist said Kobe taught him to always show up early to work and stay late. This type of work ethic made Kobe one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and that type of work ethic is applicable to any field of work, including the music industry.
Kobe took to Twitter to congratulate another one of his muses after the show:
Congrats my brother. @jtimberlake #teenchoice #muse pic.twitter.com/hOzhOROk3t
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) August 1, 2016
Timberlake has been a music icon since his days as the lead singer of *NSYNC beginning in 1997. Kobe was drafted in 1996, so the two icons have risen to fame and fortune along the same timeline.