The Mamba Mentality which Kobe Bryant popularised always took him places. Be it motivating his teammates or proving his abilities, he always took the ill-wishes and turned them around. One such incident recently came up that happened during Kobe’s early years.

Veterans talk about Kobe Bryant’s presence and personality

An article called “How we’ll remember Kobe” written by former NBA player Horace Grant in 2016 has resurfaced. It includes a lot of Kobe Bryant memories. The article consists of anecdotes and opinions by former NBA players. It was brought to our attention by The Lakers Review on Twitter.

This particular anecdote starts off with former NBA player and Denver Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw telling the viewer about Bryant’s competitive nature.

‘If you scored on Kobe in practice,’ the article read, ‘ or even if you just made a nice play with him guarding you, he would not let you leave the gym unless you played him one-on-one. Who wants to play Kobe one-on-one? Nobody. But he would bug you until you finally gave in.

Then, Shaw explains how the Lakers from the 2000s were instigators.

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‘If you crossed him over or scored on him, the rest of the team would gas it up because everybody knew how competitive he was. So they made a big deal out of it. Those early 2000s Lakers teams were full of instigators.’

After that, Shaw introduces J.R.Rider to the reader, as somewhat of a villain to out hero Kobe.

‘So this guy J.R. Rider gets to the team in 2000, and things got really interesting.’

Proof that the Mamba Mentality popularised by Kobe Bryant works

The article continues to tell the reader that J.R. Rider, who joined the Lakers in 2000, apparently wasn’t a threat to Kobe’s position. However, Rider used to continuously trash talk to Bryant. He would also say “get your a** back in the kitchen,” to a recent championship winner Kobe.

Shaw goes on to give the reader a little background about Rider along with his achievements.

Then, the real story is revealed. One day during practice Rider tells Kobe to not get things twisted. ” I’m a star too, and I used to give you buckets,” Rider says.

To this, Kobe says, “Man, you really think you could take me? Alright, after practice, me and you. One-on-one.”

J.R. responds with, “O.K., I ain’t no punk. Let’s go.”

Then all the veterans in the article described the moment. They talk about how they pulled up chairs on the sidelines and watched the show.

It is then revealed that Kobe emerged victoriously while crushing Rider and probably his ego too. Here are some excerpts from the article proving the same:

‘Kobe just absolutely demolished him’

‘ Kobe destroyed him.’

 ‘This is 22-year-old Kobe. Crazy athletic. Unlimited stamina. I mean, he kicked his a**. He pulled out everything in his bag — dunk, up-and-under, pull-up, crossover.’

‘Fadeaway. Left hand. Right hand. Blowing by him.’

‘ We were on the sidelines gassing it up. People are laughing, yelling, “Hey J.R., be careful what you wish for.”‘

Such was Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Mentality, that he absolutely crushed his opposition using the weapon of only his mind, muscle, and game.