Kobe Bryant: 24 phrases about his secret to be the best of the NBA
We present 24 phrases written by Kobe Bryant about his “Mamba mentality” which made him the best player of his generation in the NBA.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on August 22, 2023.
Kobe Bryant It is a legend in world basketball.
His passion for the game, his work ethics, his mentality, his skill, his shot, his perfectionism, his selfishness to win, his dive … are some of his qualities that led him to obtain five NBA championships with the Lakerstwo Olympic medals and even an Oscar award.
Today Kobe Bryant would turn 45 today (he died on January 26, 2020).
And today Kobe Bryant describes the “Mamba mentality” of Kobe Bryant.
We present 24 phrases of Kobe Bryant who wrote in his book Mamba Mentality (Mamba Mentity in its English edition) on the occasion of number 24, that which behaved so many nights in the NBA and that the Lakers withdrew together with 8.
1- When they were locking on basketball, Kobe Bryant was not afraid
“What I mean by this is that if I wanted to implement something new in my game, I would see it, I would try to incorporate it immediately. I did not fear failing, giving a bad impression or shame. That is because the final result always had in mind, the long -term objective.”
2- Legendary early morning training
“Starting early helped me to reconcile basketball and life. When my daughters got up in the morning, there I was, and they did not even know that I had just finished my first routine in the gym. At night I could go to bed and then then train, in my time, not in yours. I was not willing to sacrifice my game, but I didn’t want to sacrifice the time of my family.
3- Play despite pain
“We returned to the bowels of the stadium, they made me an radiography and Gary told me that my finger was broken. And I said: ‘Well, now take me out there.’ From that moment we apply a splint, a kind of hard mold in the upper parts and infer the finger. Then we wrapped it several times with an elastic tape of sponge texture. The finger would continue to hurt me every time I hit the ball.”
4- KOBE to hundreds of questions
“It was extremely curious. I wanted to improve and fill my head with the history of this sport. I was with whom I was -a coach, a legendary player, a teammate -and regardless of the situation -a game, a training, a vacation -, I kept asking questions.”
5- Reading is vital
“I set out to read the manual of the referees. One of the rules that I discovered in it was that each referee has an assigned place where it must be placed on the court. That way of proceeding generates dead areas, areas of the court in which they cannot see certain things. I learned where those areas were and took advantage of them.”
6- Achilles tendon injury was Mount Everest
“Before injuring myself I thought about my professional career. I could feel the wear of my body and I knew that I didn’t have much time left. When I had the injury, I approached the problem as a new challenge. People told me that maybe I could not return, but I knew that I was not going to let me overcome for her. I would not allow any injury to retire. The moment of the withdrawal would decide.”
7- The design of his nike was taken very seriously
“Again it is ex officio and detail. For some players, the sneakers were all shapes and color. For me it was always a matter of optimal performance. The important thing was that I was standing 48 minutes every night and depended on them to do my job.”
8- Be authentic
“When I was young, my mentality was image, image, image. I adopted that approach to the media. As I acquired experience, I realized that, do what you do, people like you or don’t like you. So, be authentic and let them value you for what you really are.”
9- Always aspired to kill the adversary
“The issue that most often discussed LeBron and I was what forms a murderous mentality. He watched how I focused on each of my training, and I, as I did with the other colleagues, constantly challenges him.”
10- His routine changed, his focus no
“I have always tried to train and prepare intelligently, but, as I turned years, my routine before and after the game, it evolved. When you are young you work explosive things and, as you get older, your approach changes to preventive measures.”
11- Meditation hymn
“I took advantage of every minute of the national anthem. During those precise moments, I listen to each and every small sounds and I imbued the Pavilion’s energy. I take the opportunity to become aware of what is happening, to be aware of the companions that surround me, of the basket that I have in front of me and the basket that I have behind my back, of all the sounds and the objects. It is a complete concentration and compression of the stadium.”
12- Mamba mentality
“At first I thought that the phrase ‘Mamba Mentality’ was just a hashtag with hook that I would use on Twitter. Something ingenious and memorable. But, from there, it began to symbolize much more. This mentality does not consist of looking for a result, it is more about the process to reach this result. It is the trip and the focus. It is a way of life. I think, in short, it is important that it is important to have that mentality.”
13- The pressure
“I never felt external pressure. I knew what I wanted to get and the great job I had to do to achieve that goals. So I did the job and trusted him. In addition, the expectations that I had of myself were greater than those of all others.”
0:53
Flashback: Kobe steals the show in the dive contest
On February 8, 1997, Kobe Bryant won the contest of nailed being just a rookie in the NBA.
14- The big shot is just one more shot
“People set up many films with decisive shots. The truth is that they are just one more shot. If you make a thousand shots a day, it’s just one between a thousand. When you’ve thrown so many, what is one more? That was my mentality from day one.”
15- God gave us two hands
“As a child,” I had six years old, “everything that looked like a weakness was bothered. So I worked very hard with my left hand at that age; I wrote my name with my left hand. I hated the feeling of being uncomfortable. And that was also my way of seeing it on the court.”
16- He never moved away from contact
“I would reach the basket and try to attack it by all media. When you go to the basket with this in mind, it serves you more of your body than of the arms. You use it to mark distance. Often, when there are many players, the defensive player becomes the attacker, and the offensive, before that, capitula. hurt me: they were them. ”
17- Put the Lakers on the tightrope
“Regardless of what would happen between us, everyone in our team knew that Shaq and I could add more than 30 points and more than 10 rebounds/assists every night. This gave them some security, but it could also make them fall into self -complacency. In an effort to avoid it, Shaq and me, aware of the intermittent tension that surrounded us, we increased it. In doing so, our teammates would level of competitiveness ”.
18- The nailed are a matter of domain “When you make a mate, you make the adversary know your mentality. You let them know that you are there to humiliate them. It also generates an emotional tuning with your teammates. It implies that in that game you are going to climb mountains, and inspires them to want to climb with you.” 19- When it was injured, it was not obsessed with what had happened “In the course of 20 seasons, I suffered my dose of serious injuries. The first thing I thought about these situations was: ‘What do I need to do to be one hundred percent?’ 20- Back to the level “The game is full of ups and downs: good moments, bad moments and everything inmedy. With everything that was happening around me, I had to strengthen my mind to keep calm and concentration.” 21- Double or nothing “I – this is no secret – would end up turning. This is just what I would do. I would enjoy the challenge, the contact, of the decision making. My adversaries, in turn, would prepare for my harsh entries collapsing the area and with two, three and up to four defenses swimming around me.” 22- Being champion is everything “It is really one of the greatest joys in this world. That feeling always drove me to love more. When I won a ring, I wanted two. When I won two, I wanted three.” 23- The agony of defeat and the joy of victory “For me they are exactly the same. I get to the gym at the same time after losing 50 games than to win a championship. For me nothing changes.” 24- Build a game so you don’t have cracks “What distinguishes the great players of the great players of all time is their ability to self -assess, define their weaknesses and turn their shortcomings into strengths.”
