By: Fatima Roshni Image credit: Media Referee
Black Mamba, a name given for his dominant stature and personality on court, and former NBA legend and Los Angeles Lakers star late Kobe Bryant's prominence hold a fair share credited to the nickname.
Among his references of Kobe Wan Kanobi, The Eight Man, 8th Wonder of the World, and others, Black Mamba held a special significance to his on-court mentality, later known as the 'Mamba Mentality'.
With the nickname resonating to his personality, the originality of the nickname, however, dates back to 2003, during which Kobe was facing a troublesome period in relation to a sexual assault case.
Tailoring onto redefine his affected image from the incident followed by the 2015 release of his autobiographical documentary 'Muse', Kobe's relevance as the Black Mamba took off to new heights.
"I went from a person who was at the top, had everything coming, to a year later, having absolutely no idea where life is going or if you are even going to be a part of life as we all know it."
"I had to separate myself. It felt like there were so many things coming at once. It was just becoming very, very confusing. I had to organize things. So, I created the Black Mamba."
The name 'Black Mamba' as Kobe is still known is linked to Quentin Tarantino's 2003 film 'Kill Bill', in which the main lead with the role as a lethal assassin carries a code name as Black Mamba.
Dating back to his 2014 interview with The New Yorker, Kobe stated, “The name [Kobe Bryant] evokes a negative emotion. When I play, what’s coming out of your mouth separates the personal stuff."
Kobe's inspiration for the nickname, was later revealed by him during his past conversation with Ahmad Rashad: “When I step on that court, I become that. I am that killer snake. I’m stone cold, man.”
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