Kobe Bryant is one of the great basketball players who left a remarkable impact on basketball. Kobe was simultaneously a player, coach, entrepreneur, and of course, an author too. He played 20 seasons for Los Angeles Lakers and retired in 2016. Unfortunately, he left us too early but his legacy of ‘Mamba Mentality’ will always motivate us in our life. This rare 125+ Unique Kobe Bryant Quotes compilation is the representation of his sumptuous and straightforward thoughts. He states, “Through basketball, I learned discipline, perseverance, teamwork, failure, success. These are lessons that can be applied to any field” and this is known as the famous Mamba Mentality which is a bright source of inspiration for everyone.
His personality is iconic!
His quotes are aesthetic!
So, without wait, let us have a look at Bryant’s spectacular thinking via his immortal quotes and boost your motivation each time when you come and read them at Lifexcites.
Must Read: 45+ Best Kobe Bryant Quotes About Life | The Mamba Mentality
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- “Dedication makes dreams come true.”
- “I see the beauty in getting up in the morning and being in pain because I know all the hard work that it took to get to this point. So, I’m not, I’m not sad about [retiring]. I’m very appreciative of what I’ve had.”
- “After all, greatness is not for everybody.”
- “May you always remember to enjoy the road, especially when it’s a hard one.”
- “We psych ourselves up too much. Like if you try to talk yourself into, ‘Oh, this is a big moment, this is a big shot,’ you’re putting a lot of pressure on yourself. You shot that shot hundreds and thousands of times. Just shoot another one.”
- “There’s nothing truly to be afraid of, when you think about it, because I’ve failed before, and I woke up the next morning, and I’m OK.”
- “People say bad things about you in the paper on Monday, and then on Wednesday, you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. I’ve seen that cycle, so why would I be nervous about it happening?”
- “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.”
- “The beauty of coaching is growing the players from the ground up. That journey continues.”
- “Use your success, wealth, and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose.”
- “I want to learn how to become the best basketball player in the world. And if I’m going to learn that, I gotta learn from the best. Kids go to school to be doctors or lawyers, so forth and so on and that’s where they study. My place to study is from the best.”
- “I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I’m like, ‘My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don’t have it. I just want to chill.’ We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.”
- “Trust me, setting things up right from the beginning will avoid a ton of tears and heartache.”
- “These young guys are playing checkers. I’m out there playing chess.”
- “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.”
- “I create my own path. It was straight and narrow. I looked at it this way: you were either in my way or out of it.”
- “When I have the chance to guard Michael Jordan, I want to guard him. I want him. It’s the ultimate challenge.”
- “A lot of people say they want to be great, but they’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness.”
- “It’s hard for me to grasp the concept of somebody being nervous when I’m talking to them.”
- “From the beginning, I wanted to be the best. I had a constant craving, a yearning, to improve and be the best.”
- “I never needed any external forces to motivate me.”
- “Losing is losing. There aren’t different degrees of losing. You either win a championship or you’re s**t. It’s very black and white to me.”
- “You guys know how I am. I don’t forget anything.”
- “I saw you come in and I wanted you to know that it doesn’t matter how hard you work, that I’m willing to work harder than you.”
- “I saw you come in and I wanted you to know that it doesn’t matter how hard you work, that I’m willing to work harder than you.”
- “I’m extremely willful to win, and I respond to challenges. It’s not a challenge to me to win the scoring title, because I know I can.”
- “Leadership is lonely. I’m not going to be afraid of confrontation to get us to where we need to go.”
- “The important thing is that your teammates have to know you’re pulling for them and you really want them to be successful.”
- “Have a good time. Life is too short to get bogged down and be discouraged. You have to keep moving. You have to keep going. Put one foot in front of the other, smile and just keep on rolling.”
- “I had to organize things. So I created the ‘Black Mamba.’ So Kobe has to deal with these issues, all the personal challenges. The Black Mamba steps on the court and does what he does. I’m destroying everybody that steps on the court.”
- “Everything negative—pressure, challenges—is all an opportunity for me to rise.”
- “There’s no need to get too crazy or bent out of shape. There are still challenges every day. But I’m still having fun. I was born to play this game. I still love it.”
- “Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.”
- “When we are saying this cannot be accomplished, this cannot be done, then we are short-changing ourselves. My brain—it cannot process failure. It will not process failure. Because if I have to sit there and face myself and tell myself ‘You are a failure,’ I think that is almost worse than dying.”
- “The message was that if you want to win championships, you have to let people focus on what they do best while you focus on what you do best. For me, that was rebounding, running the floor, and blocking shots.”
- “If I wanted to play, I’d still be playing for the Lakers.”
- “The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great at whatever they want to do.”
- “The last time I was intimidated was when I was six years old in karate class. I was an orange belt and the instructor ordered me to fight a black belt who was a couple years older and a lot bigger. I was scared s**tless. I mean, I was terrified and he kicked my a**. But then I realized he didn’t kick my a** as bad as I thought he was going to and that there was nothing really to be afraid of.”
- “When you make a choice and say, ‘Come hell or high water, I am going to be this,’ then you should not be surprised when you are that. It should not be something that is intoxicating or out of character because you have seen this moment for so long that when that moment comes, of course it is here because it has been here the whole time, because it has been [in your mind] the whole time.”
- “Be sad. Be mad. Be frustrated. Scream. Cry. Sulk. When you wake up you will think it was just a nightmare only to realize it’s all too real. You will be angry and wish for the day back, the game back, that play back. But reality gives nothing back and nor should you.”
- “I’ve shot too much from the time I was eight years old. But ‘too much’ is a matter of perspective. Some people thought Mozart had too many notes in his compositions. Let me put it this way: I entertain people who say I shoot too much. I find it very interesting. Going back to Mozart, he responded to critics by saying there were neither too many notes or too few. There were as many as necessary.”
- “I love that kids are building confidence on and off the court and unlocking their potential through sport.”
- “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.”
- “I don’t f**k with bees, man. Other than that, I’m not afraid of nothing.”
- “If you do not believe in yourself no one will do it for you.”
- “We all can 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 friends, being a great friend, being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with making that decision.”
- “I never looked at [basketball] as work. I didn’t realize it was work until my first year in the NBA. When I came around, I was surrounded by other professionals and I thought basketball was going to be everything to them, and it wasn’t. And I was like, ‘This is different.’ I thought everybody was so obsessive about the game like me. It was like, ‘No? Oh, that’s hard work.’ I get it now.”
- “There’s been a lot of talk of me being a one-man show but that’s simply not the case. We win games when I score 40 points and we’ve won when I score 10.”
- “Boos don’t block dunks.”
- Winning takes precedence overall. There’s no gray area. No almosts.
- “I don’t want chumps, I don’t want pushovers, and if you’re a chump and a pushover, I will run over you.”
- “Friends can come and go, but banners hang forever.”
- “There’s certain players that I’ve made cry. If I can make you cry by being sarcastic, then I really don’t want to play with you in the playoffs.”
- “I’ve played with IVs before, during and after games. I’ve played with a broken hand, a sprained ankle, a torn shoulder, a fractured tooth, a severed lip, and a knee the size of a softball. I don’t miss 15 games because of a toe injury that everybody knows wasn’t that serious in the first place.”
- “I had to organize things. So I created the ‘Black Mamba’. So Kobe has to deal with these issues, all the personal challenges. The Black Mamba steps on the court and does what he does. I’m destroying everybody that steps on the court.”
- “I’ve shot too much from the time I was 8 years old. But ‘too much’ is a matter of perspective. Some people thought Mozart had too many notes in his compositions. Let me put it this way: I entertain people who say I shoot too much. I find it very interesting. Going back to Mozart, he responded to critics by saying there were neither too many notes or too few. There were as many as necessary.”
- “I would go 0-for-30 [from the floor] before I would go 0-for-9. [An] 0-for-9 means you beat yourself, you psyched yourself out of the game. … The only reason is because you’ve just now lost confidence in yourself.”
- “You always want to outwork your potential. As hard as you believe you can work, you can work harder than that.”
- “To reach a certain level of success in any field that you’re in, you have to have an ego that’s gonna say ‘I wanna be the best.’ This is what’s gonna drive me when it becomes hell or high water. You’ll say ‘this needs to get done. I need to be successful.’”
- “Rest at the end, not in the middle.”
- “I mean, the game has expanded so much and the NBA has become so global.”
- “I don’t mess with bees, man. Other than that, I’m not afraid of nothing.”
- “You got to have the responsibility of working every single day. You can’t skate through shit.”
- “I’m reflective only in the sense that I learn to move forward. I reflect with a purpose.”
- “I feel like it’s part of my responsibility to give back to the next generation, try to share and teach some of the things I have learned from some of the great players, great mentors, greats coaches that I’ve had.”
- “I follow my passion, things that I love to do, like writing and storytelling, I enjoy that. I don’t find myself having to remind myself to work hard and push myself to stay on top of things because I just love doing it.”
- “You just can’t underestimate the power of showing up every single day and doing the work.”
- “It’s just about the love of the game, not just competing. It’s a game that we all enjoy and we all love playing.”
- “Well you see the object of the game is to win, so if you’re going to talk trash you might as well try to psych your opponent out.”
- “The game itself is a very rhythmic game, and I think that basketball players are just naturally drawn to music.”
- “My parents actually got the name from a steak house named ‘Kobe Beef,’ that’s the where the name originated.”
- “It’s a long journey but if you focus on the mini milestones along the way you will find beauty in the struggle.”
- “My name is Kobe Bryant, I’m 17 years old. I have the hunger, the motivation and the desire to be the best possible basketball player that I could be.”
- “You know, if you want to be a NBA basketball player, and you set yourself in the mindframe that you’re not going to be denied, and that’s what you want to accomplish, then you’re going to accomplish it.”
- “Better learn not to talk to me. You shake the tree, a leopard’s gonna fall out.”
- “When I look at role models, I look at them a little bit differently. I don’t look at exactly how they go about doing it but look more to the person and how they navigate through the ups and downs of what they go through.”
- “Yeah, its amazing, because the game seems to transcend any language or cultural barriers that may be there. And its beautiful to see people reacting so enthusiastically to the game of basketball.”
- “ I mean, it’s just a game. No matter where you’re from, it doesn’t matter. If you pick up a basketball, and go on your driveway pr go to the playground, and play basketball. The more you play, the better you get.”
- “You don’t want to jump into something if you’re not passionate about it.”
- “If you really want to create something that lasts generations, you have to help inspire the next generation.”
- “Because I don’t want chumps, I don’t want pushovers, and if you’re a chump and a pushover, I will run over you.”
- “I’m more Darth Vader than I am Luke Skywalker.”
- “Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robinson, Wilt Chamberlain, if we go by championship you have to go with Bill Russel, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, I mean, how can you leave Kareem off that list? There are so many great players, to pick five! You can’t lose.”
- “I think a lot of it had to do with, uh, isolation. You know, growing up over there [in Italy] and being the only African-American kid. Not being able to speak the language. I gravitated towards the game. In that game, you find a lot of solace.”
- “You want to win as much as you can.”
- “Just stick to the script, just try to get better and go from there.”
- “Take it all in. Sit back and watch and listen and hear all the hate that’s being thrown at us and remember every person that’s kicking you when you’re down, because next year it ain’t gonna be this way. Appreciate it now. Let it sit in now, because revenge is sweet and it’s quick.”
- “You just gotta keep pushing.”
- “I wanted to be one of the best basketball players to ever play.”
- “Yeah, I moved to Italy when I was six years old. Myself, my two older sisters, my mother, my father. My father played professionally there for eight years, so it really helped me mature quickly, getting used to different cultures and different environments.”
- “Dear Basketball,
From the moment
I started rolling my dad’s tube socks
And shooting imaginary
Game-winning shots
In the Great Western Forum
I knew one thing was real: I fell in love with you.” - “I really don’t talk too much trash.”
- “For us as athletes, it’s very difficult when you retire.”
- “We go out there, we play the game and leave it at that.”
- “Use your success, wealth and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and
- find their true purpose. Put them through school, set them up with job interviews and help them become leaders in their own right. Hold them to the same level of hard work and dedication that it took for you to get to where you are now, and where you will eventually go.”
- “The last time I was intimidated was when I was 6 years old in karate class. I was an orange belt and the instructor ordered me to fight a black belt who was a couple years older and a lot bigger. I was scared shitless. I mean, I was terrified and he kicked my ass. But then I realized he didn’t kick my ass as bad as I thought he was going to and that there was nothing really to be afraid of. That was around the time I realized that intimidation didn’t really exist if you’re in the right frame of mind.”
- “I think Michael was able to compete in every part of the game. He was able to compete in every part of the game because of his size. You know, Michael was 6’6″, so he was able to compete on rebounding the basketball, defending every player on the court, scoring obviously, I think his leadership was unparalleled. I think when we talk about not only great competitor of the game, but also in general, Michael has to be at the top of the list.”
- “I create my own path. It was straight and narrow. I looked at it this way: you were either in my way, or out of it. If you were standing between me and the game, I was going to knock you on your back and not feel bad about it. I was unapologetically me. That’s all I ever wanted to be. I was never worried about my reputation—that’s how I earned one. That’s how I became the Black Mamba.”
- “Dedication sees dreams come true.”
- “I never looked at [basketball] as work. I didn’t realize it was work until my first year in the NBA. When I came around, I was surrounded by other professionals and I thought basketball was going to be everything to them and it wasn’t. And I was like, ‘This is different.’ I thought everybody was so obsessive about the game like me. It was like, no? Oh, that’s hard work. I get it now.”
- “Use your success, wealth, and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose. Put them through school, set them up with job interviews, and help them become leaders in their own right. Hold them to the same level of hard work and dedication that it took for you to get to where you are now, and where you will eventually go.”
- “I remain focused on changing the world in positive ways through diverse stories, characters, and leadership in order to inspire the next generation.”
- “Have a good time. Life is too short to get bogged down and be discouraged. You have to keep moving. You have to keep going. Put one foot in front of the other, smile, and just keep on rolling.”
- “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. No matter what the injury—unless it’s completely debilitating—I’m going to be the same player I’ve always been. I’ll figure it out. I’ll make some tweaks, some changes, but I’m still coming.”
- “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. Don’t let it stop you from being who you can be. Exhaustion tells you when you ought to stop. You only reach your limit when you can go no further.”
- “It’s an understanding that you can’t have life without death, can’t have light without the dark, right? So it’s an acceptance of that.”
- “As I sit here now, when I take off my shoe and I look down at my scar, I see beauty in it. I see all the hard work, all the sacrifices. I see the journey that it took to get back to this point of being healthy. And I see beauty in that struggle. That’s what makes it beautiful.”
- “June 2010, after winning his fifth title: “I just got one more than Shaq. So you can take that to the bank.”
- “Not even in my dreams. That was something that just happened. It’s tough to explain. It’s just one of those things.”
- “There’s a choice that we have to make as people, as individuals. If you want to be great at something, there’s a choice you have to make. We all can 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 friends, being a great friend, being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with making that decision.”
- “There’s a choice that we have to make as people, as individuals. If you want to be great at something, there’s a choice you have to make. We all can 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 friends, being a great friend, being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with making that decision.”
- “My brain… it cannot process failure. It will not process failure. Because if I sit there and have to face myself and tell myself, ‘You’re a failure’… I think that’s almost worse than death”
- “Despite fear, finish the job.”
- “The last time I was intimidated was when I was 6 years old in karate class. I was an orange belt and the instructor ordered me to fight a black belt who was a couple years older and a lot bigger. I was scared s—less. I mean, I was terrified and he kicked my ass. But then I realized he didn’t kick my ass as bad as I thought he was going to and that there was nothing really to be afraid of. That was around the time I realized that intimidation didn’t really exist if you’re in the right frame of mind.”
- “I close my eyes and just reminisce. That’s what keeps me sane.”
- “I feel like killing everybody every time I go to the arena.”
- “I just got one more than Shaq. You can take that to the bank … You guys know how I am. I don’t forget anything.”
- “Losing is losing, there aren’t different degrees of losing. You either win a championship or you’re s**t. It’s very black & white to me.”
- “We’re happy – until next January when people start talking about trading one of us.”
- “People just don’t understand how obsessed I am with winning.”
- “If I wanted to play, I’d still be playing for the Lakers. The health thing I could’ve figured out…I just don’t want to play anymore.”
- “I’m extremely willful to win, and I respond to challenges. Scoring titles and stuff like that… it sounds, well, I don’t care how it sounds – to me, scoring comes easy. It’s not a challenge to me to win the scoring title, because I know I can.”
- “I have self-doubt, I have insecurity, I have fear of failure, I have nights when I show up at the arena and I’m like, ‘My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don’t have it, I just want to chill.’ We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.”
- “The people who truly know me know what I’m like. There have been people who try to say things that aren’t fair, and I check them. And then they don’t like me because I checked them.”
- “I’ve known for a long time that they’re a bunch of idiots.”
- “Everything has a purpose. And that purpose has a story that goes along with it. It just depends on what your passion is.”
- “Being a leader, it’s the art of trying to find the balance, the right times with each individual and what they need at that moment. It requires looking outward as opposed to looking inside.”
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