Image via Complex Original
According to a recent study, conducted by individuals more intelligent than we are, there are 27 different human emotions. Of this number, perhaps the most identifiable and also contagious, are excitement and joy. Last month at Nike Town London, with both emotions palpably filling the air, a small group of very lucky individuals packed onto the ground floor, awaiting five-time NBA champ and future Hall of Famer, Kobe Bryant.
Over a remarkable 20 year NBA career, we’ve seen Bryant travel the entire spectrum of emotion, from plucky teenage upstart to dominant force, naturally progressing into the role of supervillain before arriving at the sage-like elder statesman role he now enjoys today.
A student of the undeniable Michael Jordan, the similarities extend beyond on-court moves, with coaches and teammates on record likening Bryant’s mental focus and sharpness to that of a “genius” and “serial-killer”. Choosing to channel his energy away from surface emotion and into a deeper psychological state, this is now more commonly as the ‘Mamba Mentality’.
When Lonzo Ball, future hope for the NBA and Kobe’s Lakers, went off for 36 points at a Summer League game this year, he fittingly referenced this mentality, revealing the impact and lasting legacy of a man, now happily retired. Lonzo wasn’t born when Kobe first entered the league, neither were the vast majority of kids, many basketball players themselves, crowded around. Above the stage area, banners detailed the five new colourways of Kobe signature shoe. Applying colour psychology to the mid-top Kobe A.D. - ‘Detached’, ‘Fearless’, ‘Passion’, ‘Honesty’ and ‘Optimism’, helped to add a personal story to the shoes.
When the crowd had cleared we had a chance to speak with Kobe on the secrets to developing a Mamba mentality, plans for the future and also his daughter, who’s developed a pretty mean jumper.
COMPLEX: I remember watching a documentary a few years back, following you on the court, up-close. It changed my perspective of playing team sports, in so many ways. When did you become aware of your responsibility as a leader?
Kobe Bryant: I became aware of that part much later on because when you start playing, it’s firstly an internal process. You focus heavily on your game, then, as you get older, you begin to look at the other guys and you’re thinking, are they in rhythm, are they comfortable?
A lot of players would reject the idea of having to help make your teammates better, did it take a while for you to get to that point?
Not at first but I definitely got to a point, where I realised what was most important—and it's not just passing the ball to your teammates, it's figuring out what their motivations are, it’s listening to your teammates. You need to figure out what their goals are and then figure out how to help them to achieve that.
OK, situation—the last shot; you know that the ball’s coming to you, everybody on the other side knows it's going to you. What's the mentality behind dealing with that?
It's fine. No really, it’s fine. I mean you have to look at it like this, you've spent hours and hours and hours, taking those shots. If there is a nervousness that comes with it, it comes from knowing you haven't done the repetition enough. It's comparable to having a test in school and you wake up in the morning and you're nervous because you didn't study the week in advance.
There’s still internal and external factors that can come into it? Like your surroundings or not getting the ball where you'd like, maybe even who's defending against you.
That's the thing. It's all part of it, too. Let's say I'm playing against the Phoenix Suns, for example, I know how they like to play defence.
Raja Bell?
Yeah. Exactly, it's probably Raja on me. I know the way he likes to play defence, I know where he likes to deny me the ball, I know where they send guys to help. If I know they'll do this, this and that,I can do X, Y and Z, that's the mentality behind that. It’s all preparation.
You’ve had a few spots as an analyst and it’s always gone down pretty well but you’ve frequently said you didn’t want to go that route too much.
I’ve always just tried to do it in a creative way, I think simply sitting there and explaining, that only reaches one half of the audience. To be able to figure out how to put a beautiful visual or an arc, around the narrative of the game, that’s when you can reach everyone.
Onto your current thoughts on the game. You recently wrote a letter to injured Celtics forward Gordon Hayward. Were you watching that game live?
No, we were out at dinner at the time and I got a message on my phone. None of the details, just “Gordon’s broke his leg, he’s out for the season.” I got back to the room, I saw it and I immediately called Gordon, I asked him how he was doing, all of that, but then the next day, I just felt there was more I needed to tell him. I just feel horrible for him, I know how hard he’s worked, new season in a new city, it’s a big change. Then what comes soon after, you’re thinking, I can work so hard to come back, do all this training, and it can happen again but the only thing you can really control is what you do, the work. If it happens again, it happens again.
Staying on your relationships with players. There’s Carmelo (Anthony), who you’ve always had lots of praise for and also Russell Westbrook and Paul George, two players out of LA, you’ve helped mentor all, in different ways. What do you make of those guys coming together in OKC this year?
When teams come together like that, the first year, let me tell you, it’s always really, really good.
Really good? I’m a Knicks fan, I love Melo but I can’t see those guys making the right adjustments to really challenge.
Trust me. The first year, the expectation is like this so as players, it’s important for you to be like that. They’ll rise to it, it’s the second and third years, that’s always when things start to settle a little bit. I guess, it all depends on how the three of them approach the game, systematically. All three of them are so damn determined, they’ll do whatever it takes to win, I have faith they’ll figure it out.
You explained to us earlier about the colourways of the shoes, you’ve attached a human expression to each one. Of the five, which is your personal favourite?
I think “Honesty” —quite frankly, that’s my favourite one. Just cos it’s so easy to lie to yourself [laughs].
What stage of the design process do you then become involved?
From when I first signed with Nike, it’s always gone the same way. We get together, sit around and the first thing we talk about is performance. How can we make it perform better? Then secondly, it’s the emotional journey, what do we want the shoe to represent?
I know you have your fingers in a few places away from basketball but do you ever envision yourself involved with a franchise, possibly the Lakers, in a front office role? You’ve said you don’t miss the game; I’m not sure I believe you.
It’s crazy! Honestly, I don’t miss it. Basketball’s not who I am, it was what I did but it doesn’t define who I am. That’s just part of the challenge for me now, to be able to move on from basketball and successfully do other things.
I recently saw a clip of one of your daughter’s playing basketball and I see her being a part of the game in future. Possibly in the WNBA—is that a goal for her and yourself?
Look, she practices everyday, she also plays football, she’s active, kids at her age they just wanna be active. At her age I played football and I played basketball but at this point for her, she’s just enjoying the game. If you ask her, she’ll tell you “pssh, I’m gonna be better than you dad!”
The Nike Kobe A.D. “Mamba Mentality” Pack is available exclusively at NikeTown from Sunday 22nd October and on nike.com.