The operative word here was tried. And I unceremoniously failed in less than three days. I was in between jobs at the time and I thought it would be nice to inject a little Mamba Mentality into my life. Kobe’s career was in its twilight and stories about his fabled workouts came into the mainstream. According to Kobe (or so the legend goes), he woke up at 4 in the morning or earlier because he wanted to be ahead of anybody else. He wanted to outwork everyone.
I thought the idea of waking up early was inspiring and it made me believe it could be done every single day. I wasn’t going to play professional basketball, and in fact, I wasn’t going to do anything that was in the realm of any profession for that matter. I was just trying to be like Kobe.
Kobe will officially enter the Hall of Fame this weekend and I can’t help but think of the one thing that we fans will cherish the most. It’s the lesson that he had imprinted on us. It’s the one thing that you and I can try to live out in the hopes of honoring him, or at the very least, hold on to the idea of him. It’s Kobe’s Mamba Mentality.
The mantra has morphed into some sort of ideology and a catch-all term to cover what it means to be like Kobe. It’s the unequivocal belief that through hard work and preparation combined with unrelenting willpower – add a ton of self-confidence that borders on arrogance – you can supersede the most difficult odds and conquer your goal.
It’s cliche to say that “you can do anything you set your mind to,” so we say Mamba Mentality instead.
As Kobe officially becomes a Hall of Famer, it’s time to celebrate the life and career of the Mamba once again. Stories, old and new, will be told. Highlights will be played. Memories will be shared.
We all know his accomplishments. We all know his career arc. We can talk about the Philly kid who grew up in Italy, the Lower Merion star, the 13th pick by the Hornets, the big smile he had holding up his Lakers jersey at his first press conference, the preseason dunk he had on Ben Wallace, the time he spent glued on the bench to start his time in LA, and the four airballs he had in a playoff game against the Jazz.
And we’re just talking about the start of his NBA journey. We can go on and on about his 20-year career. We all know about the MVP, the championships, the scoring titles, the All-Defense selections, the buzzer-beaters, and all the stats. We all know the facts and stories by heart like the lyrics of our favorite song. That’s easy.
But Mamba Mentality? That hits different. That’s him getting to inspire you and me on a personal level. That’s a way for us to remember him. To honor him. To keep a piece of him even though he’s not here anymore.
Then again, trying to live a life with Mamba Mentality is no easy pickings, isn’t it? How did Kobe practice shooting, dribbling, and cutting without the ball? Shaq said it was weird but it worked. How did he power through in 2010 with a broken index finger? He delayed having surgery and won a title by the end of the year.
How about that story between him and his trainer before a Team USA practice? The Mamba called his guy for conditioning work at 4:15 in the morning. By the time the trainer arrived at the gym, Kobe was, of course, already sweating through his gear. For the next hour or so, they did some conditioning work. After that, they went to the weights room for 45 minutes of strength training. Once all that was done, Kobe trooped back to the floor to shoot some more, and the trainer headed to the hotel to get some sleep.
Okay, cool story about Kobe doin’ work, right? But here’s the kicker.
Team USA practice was then supposed to start at 11. The trainer, having barely slept at all, was obviously groggy and tired as he made his way back to the facility. As the rest of the players like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony started piling into the practice facility, Kobe was already on the other side shooting jumpers. The trainer goes over and asks what time Kobe finished shooting earlier. Kobe goes, "Oh just now. I wanted 800 makes so yeah, just now.”
How ---?
To be honest, I’m no Laker fan nor am I a Kobe fan, to begin with. I actually rooted for one of the teams that Kobe and the Lakers destroyed in the early 2000s: the Sacramento Kings.
I loved Peja Stojakovic, Mike Bibby, Chris Webber, and the entire crew. As for Kobe? I hated the guy. It wasn’t so much that I despised him. I just didn’t like the fact that he used to kill the Kings. The entire 2002 West Finals is not a good rewatch for me.
Then something happened. I began to respect Kobe. It wasn’t the high-flying dunks nor the dagger jumpers. It was never about what he did on the court. It was always about the work he put in. It was always about his dedication and preparation to get to the floor in the first place.
The hate turned to respect and then to admiration. How could you not love a guy that works hard on his craft day in and day out?
Of course, we all know that attempting to live out Mamba Mentality is a whole different animal. Aside from the sheer amount of dedication and hard work, the sacrifices involved are another mountain to climb.
Kobe missed a ton of dinners, weddings, gatherings, and parties. He alienated people just because he was so driven and focused to be the best. Before he became a teacher of the game, he often stayed in his room by himself to watch film. Especially early in his career, he had his blinders on and didn’t care about the people around him.
Well, Kobe did tell us that Mamba Mentality is hard. He didn’t mince words. Just like when Matt Barnes faked a pass to his face, he didn’t flinch when he told us that nothing substitutes putting in the work. He did say that it’s not for everyone, and it’s even harder now because he’s not here anymore to push us.
But I guess the point has always been to try. It’s having the willingness to try the simplest things and the audacity to try the impossible. It’s daring yourself. It’s taking a risk. It’s you believing that if you put in the time and the effort, anything is within reach. That said, the process could be different for you and me.
Maybe it's waking up at 4:00 AM. Maybe it's finally doing that thing you've been putting off for a long time. Maybe it's starting that business you've always thought of. Maybe it's finishing that book you started reading a while back. Maybe it's putting in that extra hour of work. Maybe it's spending more time being a Girl Dad. Maybe it's the little things when nobody is watching.
Maybe it's all these things and maybe it's not. That’s for you to find out. I know I can’t wake up at 4 in the morning or make 800 jump shots. But I can try to apply Mamba Mentality in many other ways. As I said, it could be different for you and me.
I’m reminded of what Kobe said to his daughters on the night his jersey was retired:
“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 the understanding that those times when you get up early and you work hard, those times you stay up late and you work hard, those times when you don’t feel like working, you’re tired, you don’t want to push yourself, but you do it anyway.
“That is actually the dream. That’s the dream. 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. If you guys can understand that, then I’m doing my job as a father.”
He was speaking to his daughters, but I’m pretty sure his words also resonated with us.
