“My team needs me to score,” Kobe Bryant’s differing mindset to LeBron James brought to light by former teammate
Kobe Bryant's Mamba Mentality set him apart as a lethal scorer as opposed to LeBron James' game manager style.
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Kobe Bryant used his Mamba Mentality to score at will unlike LeBron James
Kobe Bryant is often regarded as one of the great Los Angeles Lakers superstars. However, over the past seven seasons, that mantle has been taken up by LeBron James. But the two played different roles as they drove their teams to NBA titles.
On one hand, Bryant was the lethal scorer and lockdown perimeter defender who opponents feared when facing him. On the other hand, James is a playmaking scorer whose unpredictability leaves opponents gambling most of the time.
That means the two have different numbers on their career stat sheets. When one former teammate tried to compare Bryant to James’ style, it led to a conversation that made it clear how the late legend was as a player. Chris Duhon speaking to KarterKast explained.
He was like, ‘LeBron gets another triple double’. I was like, ‘S**t, you ain’t never get one of them because your a** don’t pass.’ And he starts laughing, and he was like, ‘Alright, I bet you $5,000 I get a triple-double the next game’. I’m like, ‘Bet it.’
Chris Duhon on KarterKast
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Duhon was likely talking about the Lakers’ game against the Dallas Mavericks on April 2nd, 2013. Every time Bryant recorded an assist or a rebound, he winked at Duhon. He went on to post 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists while adding 4 steels and 2 blocks to produce an all-round performance.
Kobe Bryant claimed he could record triple doubles if he wanted to
Kobe Bryant did not have many triple doubles in his career. But his scoring helped the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA titles. Along with it, he was the league MVP once, but more importantly, was the NBA’s scoring leader twice. He had reiterated his role to Chris Duhon after that game.
We talked after the game. … He was just like, ‘If I wanted to, I can get a triple-double every game. But my team needs me to score. I wanna take the hearts out of anyone that’s guarded me and the other team knowing that they can’t stop me.
Chris Duhon on KarterKast
Duhon went on to explain that Bryant showed him what he meant by the ‘Mamba Mentality’ that he sported. One that makes him the cold assassin that goes out and scores against any opponent to help his team win.
Many athletes continue to revere the Mamba Mentality and strive to adopt that mindset. The most recent example was Bryant’s favorite WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu, who channeled that mentality on her way to her first WNBA title.
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Joseph Varghese
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