The Mentality That Made Kobe a Legend

Today’s athlete in focus is Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players in the world with multiple records behind his name. He tragically died in a helicopter crash this month, five years ago, but he continues to inspire athletes through his legacy and teachings of the Mamba Mentality.

In this edition:

•  The Mamba Mentality: Kobe Bryant’s five pillars of success

• How fearlessness shaped Kobe’s approach to failure and injuries

• Why mastering the basics is the ultimate tactic for greatness

— Paco Raven, Editor & Founder

What is the Mamba Mentality?

Kobe Bryant has played 20 seasons in the NBA, scoring 33,643 points in his whole career. He played his entire career for the Lakers and won 5 championships. He is one of the greatest basketballers and achieved this through his incredible work ethic and mentality.

When I was brainstorming for athletes to write about for the first edition of Athlete Portrait’’, I thought back to the athletes who inspired me and changed the way how I look at sport and performance. Kobe Bryant came directly to mind because his mentality and obsession showed me that hard work on the basics is essential for success.

For this edition, I began researching Kobe Bryant and reading his book The Mamba Mentality: How I Play. Every great athlete says that they work hard and that being great means sacrificing a lot. Kobe Bryant took this to another level but he also made it practical through what he calls ‘‘The Mamba Mentality’’.

In the book, he shared that ‘‘The Mamba Mentality’’ has five pillars. Those five pillars are: Be obsessive, Be Passionate, Be Relentless, Be Resilient and Be Fearless. I will not be going over all pillars but I have chosen the ones that taught me a lot more about how great athletes perform. If you want me to write about the other pillars, let me know and maybe I can write a second part.

‘‘When it came to basketball, I had no fear.‘‘

Be Fearless is one of the pillars that can be applied to a lot of aspects of your game.

Being fearless doesn’t only mean being the most confident player and not being afraid of your competitors. For Kobe Bryant, it also meant that you are not afraid to make mistakes and continue to try again.

As an athlete, you must keep trying again, again and again. The world of professional sports is a tough world where only the ones that continue to improve survive.

You do this by trying out new things and yes you will fall down the first few times but then you try again.

In the book, Kobe Bryant recalls that he in his childhood would work tirelessly on adding elements to his game. He would see something he liked in person or on film and immediately tried to practice it.

He would do this not for one day but for a couple of days and then apply it in his games. Another big lesson you can take from this is that Kobe Bryant doesn’t research more but he immediately implements it.

By directly implementing and practicing it he learns through experience what works and what does not. If you learn things through experience, you learn indirectly.

In the world of sports performance, this is how you want to train because it will become a part of your game you don’t have to think about. It comes naturally and you will give it your personal touch.

Be fearless also touches on how to cope with obstacles like injuries. Injuries are a part of professional sports and can have a significant impact on your career.

This is also why strength training and mobility exercises are essential to prevent injuries. When you get an injury, don’t let fear and worry distract you, just work on coming back stronger.

I know this is easier said than done when you can’t do what you love for a couple of months but worrying will certainly not help.

‘‘If you really want to be great at something, you have to truly care about it’’

Kobe Bryant knew from a young age that he wanted to be a great basketball player. He knew he would have to do the work and was willing to do that amount of work.

In the book he talks about how a lot of people want to be great, but they don’t want to make sacrifices. That is fine, after all not everyone can be great.

You have to obsess over your sport and be willing to lose yourself in it. A lot of people will not understand you and say that you are doing too much.

Obsession has for a lot of people a negative tone but it is the source of greatness. A great quote I always think back to is ‘‘When people don’t understand you anymore, You have arrived’’.

You just have to follow what comes naturally, embrace it, and let it guide you.

‘‘Obsession is a fine balance between obsessing about your game and being there for your family’’ says Kobe in his book. He is famous for his late-night and 4 am workouts. The reason he works out that time is because this way he can be with his family when he is needed. He accepted the cost for himself and got to work.

This is the greatest lesson from Kobe Bryant

I’ve seen many athletes focusing too much on training their technique and athleticism with fancy new exercises that they have found on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. This is not where the real power is, that is in doing the basics day in, day out. Kobe Bryant believed the same:

In other words, look at what the basics are in your own sport and look at how you can improve them. Focus on them for a long period of time so at least half a season. Don’t spread out your focus, just focus on improving that part every day. After this, you pick a new skill and you work on that.

This is not on the other work you do on the basics. If you want to improve your explosivity, for example, you will work on that extra in your training after your regular training. Focus on one thing for a long time through practice and applying it in games, then switch. You will be amazed at how much progress you can make in half a year of controlled focus.

Thank you for reading.

Next week marks the debut of the Insider Edition, where we’re diving deep into "Ankle Stiffness" and its role in improving your explosivity.

And if you missed last month’s Q&A Edition on how to stretch smarter for better performance, read it here.

Until next week,
Paco Raven, Editor & Founder
The Stoiclete