10 Inspirational Kobe Bryant Quotes on Winning and the Black Mamba Mindset
As most of the world knows by now, Kobe Bryant passed away, along with his daughter “Gigi” and seven others last Sunday in a tragic helicopter crash. And like millions of sports fans, I was in shock which eventually led to an overwhelming sense of sadness.
It’s a little weird, but since Kobe and I graduated high school the same year, we both played basketball, and he took my celebrity crush at the time– the R&B singer Brandy– to his senior prom, I felt connected to him.
Over the years, we watched Kobe go from a boy playing with men to a man among boys.
I recently saw a highlight segment where he did this dunk that my brain could not compute. I don’t understand how he contorted his body in such a way and still dunked over someone who was pushing him away from the basket and while running full speed.
People love to mention how talented Kobe was. But the thing that was most insane about Kobe was his infamous work ethic. I’m not saying he wasn’t talented, but the real gift was his mindset — the Mamba mentality.
Sharing a story, Dwyane Wade said that during the Olympics when the other players were just getting started with breakfast, Kobe arrived with iced knees in a sweaty T-shirt and shorts after spending 3 hours practicing.
There are tons of stories like this about Kobe. There’s a lot we can learn from his life from both good and bad examples. I’ve written about Kobe before.
I’m going to write another post but for this one, I want to say that he wasn’t the type of person to rely on just his talent for success. He didn’t take anything for granted, including his talent or his natural abilities.
Somehow, Kobe never let all the praise and admiration he received from fans go to his head (for too long).
So, it’s just unexplainable that one of the best in the world, also worked harder than anyone else on the team.
Can you imagine how our lives would be different if we applied Kobe’s work ethic to all the major areas of our lives like marriage, health, finances, faith, our careers etc?
Well, Kobe applied that Black Mamba mentality on and off the court.
Below are some of the best quotes I found on Kobe Bryant’s work ethic and his desire to win.
- “I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.”
- “Winning takes precedence over all. There’s no gray area. No almost.”
- “People just don’t understand how obsessed I am with winning.”“Pain doesn’t tell you when you ought to stop. Pain is the little voice in your head that tries to hold you back because it knows if you continue you will change.”
- “The moment you give up, is the moment you let someone else win.”“I focus on one thing and one thing only – that’s trying to win as many championships as I can.”
- “These young guys are playing checkers. I’m out there playing chess.”
- “The process of it [drives me to come back]. I want to see if I can. I don’t know if I can. I want to find out. I want to see. I’m going to do what I always do: I’m going to break it down to its smallest form, smallest detail, and go after it. Day by day, one day at a time.”
- “There’s a choice that we have to make as people, as individuals. If you want to be great at something there is a choice you have to make. We can all be masters at our craft, but you have to make a choice. What I mean by that is, there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that – family time, hanging out with your friends, being a great friend. being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with that.”
- “I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success. Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.”
- “Christmas morning, I’m going to open presents with my kids. I’m going to take pictures of them opening the presents. Then I’m going to come to the Staples Center and get ready to work.”
During his retirement speech, Kobe addressed his daughters:
- “Lastly our daughters, Natalia, Bianca and Gianna. You guys know that if you do the work, you work hard enough, dreams come true. You know that, we all know that. But hopefully what you get from tonight is that those times when you get up early and you work hard; those times when you stay up late and you work hard; those times when don’t feel like working — you’re too tired, you don’t want to push yourself — but you do it anyway. That is actually the dream. That’s the dream. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. And if you guys can understand that, what you’ll see happen is that you won’t accomplish your dreams, your dreams won’t come true, something greater will. (Points to the rafters). And if you guys can understand that, then I’m doing my job as a father.”
Do you have a favorite quote from these?