In the poem, basketball symbolizes something all-powerful—it’s as if basketball is a godlike figure. The symbol doesn’t mean that Kobe Bryant doesn’t believe in God proper, or that basketball has pushed God aside. The link to God, or a god, is a way for Bryant to symbolize his deep, extensive relationship with basketball.

Based on history, God seems to call on certain people. The 17th-century English poet John Milton believed God called on him to help explain to the general public why Adam and Eve had to leave paradise (i.e., the Garden of Eden). In his epic poem Paradise Lost (1667), Milton declares, “I may assert Eternal Providence, / And justify the ways of God to men” (Milton, John, Paradise Lost. G. Routledge, 1905).

Milton’s epic poem proves that he listened to God’s call, and Bryant’s poem (and his 20-year NBA career) proves that he obeyed basketball’s command. As the speaker says, “YOU called me” (Line 25). It’s as if Bryant had no choice in the matter. Like a god, basketball was too powerful to ignore. Explaining his choice to follow basketball’s orders, Bryant writes, “[T]hat’s what you do / When someone makes you feel as / Alive as you’ve made me feel” (Lines 27-29).