Where were you? This question is one that applies to very few events during our lifetimes. It’s moments like the death of Michael Jackson or the Boston Marathon bombing that leaves people asking “Where were you when that happened?” 

That question is now applicable to the tragedy that took place on January 26th, 2020, when a helicopter crash took the life of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13 year old daughter Gianna Bryant and the seven other passengers that were on board.

When TMZ first broke the news that Kobe had died, I, like everyone else, immediately thought that it was fake. When I found out that the reports were true, I was speechless. This wasn’t just any athlete or celebrity, this was a man who most of us saw as invincible, a man who had every kid with a crumpled piece of paper yelling “KOBE” as they shot imaginary game winners into recycling bins. 

From the first time he set foot in the NBA, Kobe Bryant became a larger than life figure that took the sports world by storm. 

Drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers straight out of high school, Bryant immediately became one of the NBA’s most electrifying players. From there the legend of Kobe Bryant would only grow, as he went on to win five NBA Championships, one league MVP award, and finished 4th on the all-time scoring list. None of which were possible without the Mamba Mentality.

Mamba Mentality was created by Kobe as not only saying, but was created to become a way of life. Bryant described it as the “simplest form of just trying to get better at whatever you’re doing.”

There are stories of Kobe making his high school teammates play him one-on-one games to 100 points. There are other instances where coaches have found him in the gym, two hours before practice, shooting around in the dark. This Mamba mentality was a phrase that not only guided him towards success during his basketball career, but would also lead him to become just as successful in his post-basketball life. 

In 2018, Bryant won an Oscar for his animated short film “Dear Basketball.”

When asked about how it felt to receive the Oscar in comparison to his accomplishments in basketball, Bryant said, “It’s better than winning a [NBA] championship.” 

Despite all the accolades in fame, Bryant’s main focus was always his family. He married his teenage girlfriend, Vanessa Bryant, and together they had four daughters: Natalia (17) Gianna (13) Bianka (3) and Capri, who was just born last summer.

In the end, I think that Kobe lived his life the only way he knew how, which was to give everything he had 100% of the time. 

That’s the Mamba Mentality.