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What We Can Learn from the Great Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant is one of my favorite sports personalities. A basketball legend, he won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and two Olympic gold medals. He holds numerous accolades to his name. Bryant occupies 4th place on the list of the players with the highest career score. Bryant has the 2nd highest one-game score in history — he scored 81 points in a 2006 game. Kobe Bryant retired in 2016 and seemed happy in retirement. He wrote books and won an Academy Award for an animated short film. He coached his daughter’s basketball team. In his own words, Bryant became a storyteller, sharing his experience in professional basketball to inspire people to do their best and achieve their goals.
Kobe Bryant tragically died in January 2020, in a helicopter crash, together with his 13-year-old daughter and seven other persons. This news shocked the world. Bryant was one of those people you would imagine to get old, help people around with their wisdom and die surrounded by friends and family. Even his toughest competitors on the basketball court were grieving and could not hold back tears.
Rightfully considered to be one of the best basketball players in history, Bryant has become one of those rare sportsmen who transcended their sport. Often referred to as his generation’s version of Michael Jordan, Bryant was nicknamed Black Mamba (a reference to Tarantino’s Kill Bill) — aggressive, deadly, and accurate.
One thing that Bryant was known for, other than the awards, highlights, achievements, and records, is his approach to his craft and to life — something that has become synonymous with his nickname — The Mamba Mentality. As Bryant himself explained: “Mamba mentality is all about focusing on the process and trusting in the hard work when it matters most,” he said. “It’s the ultimate mantra for the competitive spirit.
Let’s try to unpack this concept and see how can we apply Kobe Bryant’s lessons in our lives.
The Quest. The purpose. Bryant grew up watching the basketball greats — Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and of course, Michael Jordan. But unlike most people who thought these were almost superheroes, Bryant asked himself — could I get to that level? Let’s find out. His singular focus on becoming the best basketball player drove everything he did from that point on. This mindset is more than about achieving a specific result, it is more about the process, and the discipline of sticking to the work. It was his way of life. Bryant often said that to be truly great at something, one had to be somewhat obsessive about it. “A lot of people say they want to be great, but they’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness. They have other concerns, whether important or not, and they spread themselves thin,” he said.
Hard Work. “Hard work outweighs talent — every time,” Bryant famously said. “Mamba mentality is about 4 a.m. workouts, doing more than the next guy, and then trusting in the work you’ve put in when it’s time to perform.” Bryant’s insane work ethic was legendary. He was always looking for ways to optimize his training routines and squeeze the maximum out of every day. His logic was that as you train more, and a little more every day than everyone else, this accumulates over time, up to a point where you are referred to as this talent, the prodigy, someone “others don’t even hope to compete against”. It takes a lot of work, often invisible work, to be successful. People will celebrate that success, but not necessarily the work that went into it.
The Homework. One of my favorite quotes by Bryant is this: “Without studying, preparation, and practice, you’re leaving the outcome to fate. I don’t do fate.” Bryant did what he could do not leave things to chance. He studied his opponents, he studied tape. He asked questions and was constantly hungry to learn. People have always mentioned his insatiable curiosity. He would ask some of the best basketball players about specific moves, their mindsets, and their training routines and they would eagerly oblige. Bryant was fearless about learning — he always sought knowledge. “The world is my library” he would say.
Dealing with failures. Any path is full of failures. We sometimes paint ourselves a rosy picture — I will do this and that and everything will be great. It rarely ever plays out like that. But Bryant had the confidence to fail. Someone was ahead of him? He knew he would not catch them in a week or a month. He would focus on the long term, work relentlessly and shorten the gap after a year. Then a year later, he was already far ahead. Failures fueled Bryant’s passion to get better. After perhaps the most painful loss of his career, in the 2008 NBA finals to the Boston Celtics (a great team with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen), no one would blame his team for never winning championships again. But Bryant and his Lakers team came back to win two back-to-back titles. That was extraordinary but probably did not surprise anyone who knew Kobe Bryant.
Outwork your potential. Do you know what your limit is? Why don’t you try to find out? Bryant’s approach was that whatever your ceiling you think is, you can get past it through hard work. He had little patience for laziness. Just as extra work, every day adds up, the little shortcuts you take add up too. Little lazy moments here and there make a huge impact over a long period of time. “I can’t relate to lazy people” — Bryant said — “We don’t speak the same language. I don’t understand you.”
Hold others accountable. Whatever caliber of a superstar you might be, basketball, as in many other areas in life — is a team sport. Bryant’s example of focus, hard work, and warrior attitude was what got his teammates to want to become better versions of themselves. He said: “There’s a big misconception where people thinking winning or success comes from everybody putting their arms around each other and singing kumbaya and patting them on the back when they mess up, and that’s just not reality. If you are going to be a leader, you are not going to please everybody. You have to hold people accountable. Even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable.” Bryant was known to give it as it is to his teammates, expecting and demanding the best from them. His focus was therefore not only on his own improvement, but that of his team and 5 NBA championships are a testament to his ability to lead.
No excuses. Bryant was known to play through injuries and pain. But his last display of courage and heart was truly mind-blowing. On April 12, 2013, Bryant tore the Achilles tendon in his left leg and was clearly in pain. What followed is almost a Hollywood movie story. Bryant got up, walked to the bench, and after a brief treatment, returned to the field to score both free throws to tie the game. Those who have dealt with such an injury know how debilitating it is. But for Bryant, it was just another obstacle.
Focus. In one of the most famous interviews and now YouTube clips involving Kobe Bryant, he is answering questions at a press conference following the second win over the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA finals. The reporter asked him why he did not look happy, his team was 2–0 ahead. Kobe replied: What’s there to be happy about?” Bryant said. “The job’s not finished. Is the job finished? I don’t think so.” Bryant knew that taking your eyes off the target can be costly. He did not want his opponents to have the slightest opportunity to catch up. Especially in the context of the previous year’s finals loss to the Celtics, he knew all too well that almost reaching a goal is the same as did not reach the goal.
Make sure to check Bryant’s book, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play (2018).
Bryant’s impact goes well beyond the game of basketball. Athletes of other disciplines and non-athletes alike have referred to and applied the Mamba Mentality in their own quests. Mamba Mentality is “about attacking what’s in front of you with passion and purpose, without fear and doubt and without an ounce of quit.” (Demario Davis, NFL). It is about deciding on a goal and putting in the work to achieve it with focus and dedication.
Netflix’ The Last Dance chronicling Michael Jordan’s career in NBA was excellent — it gave us a glimpse into what drove Michael Jordan and how Chicago Bulls did the amazing feats that they did as a team. I can only hope Netflix makes a show about Kobe Bryant.
I want to add a few YouTube clips of NBA stars sharing stories about Kobe Bryant. Enjoy!
