50 Kobe Bryant Quotes To Inspire, Motivate, & Cultivate the 'Mamba Mentality' in Yourself (2024)

Kobe Bryant was not only a legendary player but a motivator for the younger generation with his actions on and off the basketball court.

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant was a legend in the game of basketball. The LA Lakers superstar was loved and adored by everyone around the world for being a passionate player on the court and a family man off the court.

The Black Mamba, as he was called by everyone,won the NBA title five times and is regarded by many as one of the best players ever.

He left us when the helicopter he was riding in crashed in the vicinity of Los Angeles. He was 41.

Kobe wasn't just another well-to-do famous athlete.

He was a successful and renowned entrepreneur, he also made significant investments in media, data, gaming, and technology in addition to owning and growing sports brands.

We will look at 50 of his best quotes to honor his legacy and serve as an inspiration for the future generation.

1."Dedication makes dreams come true."

2."Once you know what failure feels like, determination chases success."

3."The most important thing is you must put everybody on notice that you’re here and you are for real."

4."I see the beauty in getting up in themorningand 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."

5."After all, greatness is not for everybody."

6."I can't relate to lazy people. We don't speak the same language. I don't understand you. I don't want to understand you."

7."May you always remember to enjoy the road, especially when it’s a hard one."

8."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."

9."I don't want to be the nextMichael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant."

10."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?"

11."If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail."

12."The beauty of coaching is growing the players from the ground up. That journey continues."

13."Use your success, wealth, and influence to put them in the best position to realize their dreams and find their true purpose."

14."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, and so forth, and so on and that's where they study. My place to study is from the best."

15."A lot of leaders fail because they don’t have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord."

16."I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have a 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."

17."Trust me, setting things up right from the beginning will avoid a ton of tears and heartache."

18."Leadership is lonely. I'm not going to be afraid of confrontation to get us to where we need to go."

19."I want to see if I can. I don't know if I can. I want to find out. I want to see it. I'm going to do what I always do: I'm going to break it down to its smallest form, and smallest detail, and go after it. Day by day, one day at a time."

20."I create my path. It was straight and narrow. I looked at it this way: you were either in my way or out of it."

21."When I have the chance to guardMichael Jordan, I want to guard him. I want him. It’s the ultimate challenge."

22."A lot of people say they want to be great, but they’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness."

23."My parents are my backbone. Still are. They're the only group that will support you if you score zero or you score 40."

24."I never needed any external forces to motivate me."

25."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."

26."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."

27."It’s hard for me to grasp the concept of somebody being nervous when I’m talking to them."

28."From the beginning, I wanted to be the best. I had a constant craving, a yearning, to improve and be the best."

29."I had to organize things. So I created the ‘Black Mamba.’ So Kobe has to deal with these issues and 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."

30."Everything negative—pressure, challenges—is all an opportunity for me to rise."

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31."I realized that intimidation didn't exist if you're in the right frame of mind."

32."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.

33."This is the moment I accept the most challenging times will always be behind me and in front of me."

34."Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses."

35."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."

36."The moment you give up, is the moment you let someone else win."

37."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,runningthe floor, and blocking shots."

38."If I wanted to play, I’d still be playing for the Lakers."

39."The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great at whatever they want to do."

40."I love that kids are buildingconfidenceon and off the court and unlocking their potential through sport."

41."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 of 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."

42.“The Biggest mistake we make in life is thinking we have time.”

43."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."

44."I don’t f**k with bees, man. Other than that, I’m not afraid of anything."

45."If you do not believe in yourself no one will do it for you."

46."I’m reflective only in the sense that I learn to move forward. Ireflect with a purpose."

47."I got one more than Shaq. So you can take that to the bank."

48."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. Some sacrifices come along with making that decision."

49."I never looked at [basketball] as work. I didn't realize it was working 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, but 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."

50."Haters are a good problem to have. Nobody hates the good ones. They hate the great ones."

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