The Origin of Black Mamba

The late and great Kobe Bryant once recounted a story about a defining moment in his basketball career.

He was 11 years old, having just returned to the U.S. after living in Italy. In Italy, he was bigger and better than everyone, but things were different in the States.

Bryant said, “I had a summer where I played basketball when I was 11 years old and I didn’t score one point. The entire summer, not a free-throw, not a lucky shot, not a breakaway layup.”

He recounted feeling embarrassed, given his father and uncle were both Philadelphia basketball legends.

Bryant continued, “And I remember crying about it being upset about it and my father gave me a hug and said, ‘Listen whether you scored zero or sixty, I’m going to love you, no matter what.’”

Unconditional love gave Kobe the confidence to fail, leading him to become deadly like a black mamba on the basketball court.