NBA and the world of business go hand in hand. Whether it is Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, or Kobe Bryant, the one thing they all have in common is successful business ventures. Out of all the legends, Jordan has been successful in building a business empire. While Jordan’s iconic sneaker line is no stranger to the world, Kobe Bryant has been able to launch a line of his own through some smart investment.

Bryant invested in a then relatively lesser-known brand which has turned into a business giant in a few years. Talking about his investment in an interview, Kobe revealed how businessman Elon Musk helped him take the right steps.

Kobe Bryant thanks Elon Musk

A sports drink brand named BodyArmor received an initial investment of between $4M and $6M from the late Kobe Bryant. Now that same brand has been acquired by Coca-Cola for a huge sum. So what is Kobe’s inspiration in the business world? According to the NBA legend, talking to Elon Musk made him realize the most important thing in business.

He mentions, ” By 2025, we wanna be the No.1 sports drink. Elon Musk is a genius by all accounts. Like I asked him one time about how does he learn and the amount of research and study that he does is unheard of. But he’ll always say the most important thing is imagination so you can learn anything that you want. I sat down and talked with Elon for a couple of hours, and it was really really a joy.”

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Talking in the same interview, Kobe mentions why innovation is important and how companies like Gatorade lack it. According to him and the BodyArmor founder, the only thing that changed in Gatorade is color. And the color change is due to artificial colors.

Kobe’s BodyArmor investment?

One thing which stood out in Kobe’s game on the basketball court is the drive to win. And the same can be noticed in his ventures off the court.

Kobe and the founders wanted to end the monopoly in the world of sports drinks. This made Kobe invest in the BodyArmor company way back in 2014. He invested between $4M and $6M just after 2 years of the launch of the company, making him the third-largest stakeholder in the company.

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The sports drink instantly became popular, which led to Coca-Cola’s involvement. The company acquired full control of the company in 2018 in a cash deal worth $5.6 billion. Out of that, Kobe Bryant’s estate is reportedly going to earn approximately $400 million.

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