Kobe figured it out. In the end, the only thing that will come across loud and clear is his legacy. And that, to me, is the greatest success imaginable.
The entire object of true friendship/relationships is to make people not merely do or say the right thing, but to enjoy saying and doing the right things; not merely to like, but to enjoy being admired, and not merely to love, but to love unconditionally and all their flaws.