The Life of Mamba

Writer: Keion Cage

Kobe Bean Bryant was his full name, but to fans it was just Kobe. From throwing paper balls in the trash and yelling “Kobe!,” to the one the greatest National Basketball Association (NBA) players of all time, Kobe was a worldwide known name. One of the most legendary of first names people know without mentioning the full name. When people hear the name Kobe, they knew they were talking about Kobe Bryant.

“I always said Kobe. I never really said Kobe Bryant, because it was just Kobe to me,” said Kobe fan and Hampton University student Daryl Riley Jr. “Everyone knew when you say Kobe, they were talking about Kobe Bryant.”

Before 1978, Kobe was simply known as a city in Japan that is known for its beef. In the 21st century, it became a verb people used as they shoot paper balls in the trash cans to mimic basketball legend Kobe Bryant’s greatness in the NBA.

When you heard the name Kobe on January 26th, it was the first time the name was questioned.

The NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant died on January 26th in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, CA along with seven other passengers.

When my father had called me to tell me the news of Kobe’s tragic death. I responded with “Kobe? Kobe Bryant” all the while knowing that he was talking about Kobe Bryant. The news felt unbelievable because Kobe was a legend and legends are not supposed to die, especially not at the age of 41.

Kobe entered the NBA in 1996 as an 18 year old player from Lower Merion High School near Philadelphia, PA. Ever since he first stepped on an NBA court, people knew that he was going to be someone special to the game of basketball. It was the swagger, attitude, and determination people saw when he played, better known as the “Mamba Mentality.”

Kobe was also known as the Black Mamba which is a name he got from Quentin Tarantino's movie, "Kill Bill" when an assassin used a black mamba to kill someone.

"The length, the snake, the bite, the strike, the temperament," Bryant said in an interview with The Washington Post. “I looked it up — yeah, that's me. That's me!”

The nickname Black Mamba came to the world in 2004. Kobe mentioned in an interview with The Washington Post that the nickname helped him get through his lowest moment of his life. In 2003, Kobe was going through the sexual assault charge that altered his life.

"I had to separate myself," Kobe explained in his auto-documentary, “Muse”. "It felt like there were so many things coming at once. It was just becoming very, very confusing. I had to organize things. So, I created The Black Mamba."

Kobe went from jersey number 8 to number 24 and took the NBA by storm. Kobe finished his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2016 an 18-time All-Star, NBA MVP, and five-time NBA champion with 33, 292 career points which is 1, 351 points ahead of NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.

Kobe’s “Mamba Mentality” was the trait that inspired several people across the world. This is the mentality that is needed to be successful in anything. Every time Kobe touched any basketball court, he wanted to show that he was the best player on the court and that he was going to be the greatest ever. Kobe’s determination to work hard to be the greatest ever was the trait that people admire and respected whether you were basketball fan or not.

“It was just f*** everyone. I’m destroying everybody that steps on the court,” said Kobe. “There was nothing that was going to get in the way. There was nothing that was going to

stop me.”

Kobe kept this mental approach in everything he did. Even after retirement, as a girls’ basketball coach, husband, and father of four daughters. Kobe was often seen coaching his daughter, Gianna Bryant, who was a young talented player in the making. Kobe was a huge supporter of women's sports and would mentor several female athletes such Los Angeles Sparks’ Candance Parker.

Kobe was not just a basketball player. He was a hero to many people whether they were an athlete,a person who worked a 9 to 5,a young person, or an old person. Kobe’s “Mamba Mentality” was a global and inter-generational influencing phenomenon.

The tragic death of Kobe was a loss that touched many hearts. People remember his love for his family, the game of basketball, and the people he hoped to inspire to be great in their own ways.

“The most important thing is to try and inspire people, so that they can be great in whatever they want to do,” said Kobe.

Every time a person balls up a piece of paper to shoot in the trash can, it's not just to mimic his greatness on the court, but to remember the inspiration of putting your all into your dream.