Kobe Bryant is the speaker of the poem. Kobe is the “I,” and he signs his letter, “Love you always, Kobe” (Lines 51-52), so it is clear that the speaker is Kobe, the man, instead of the formal name Bryant used for the author.

The reason Kobe writes his letter to basketball is to announce his retirement. When Kobe composed his poem, he was playing his 20th season in the NBA, and he lets basketball know that he won’t hang around for a 21st season. Since Kobe frames his poem as a letter, the poem is a part of the epistolary genre—a literary work in the form of a letter or letters. Due to Kobe’s deep love for basketball, the poem is also a love poem. Kobe treats basketball like a person and gives it a personal pronoun—a “you.” When a poet gives human characteristics to something nonhuman, they’re using a literary device known as personification. Here, personification allows Kobe to address basketball as if it’s a person who can hear and reciprocate his words and feelings.

Kobe’s tone is intimate and sentimental. He gives the reader an up-close peek into his connection to basketball.