You know it's about to be a sad one when you have to write about someone in the past tense. Another unbelievable talent gone too soon. Kobe Bryant tragically passed away in a helicopter crash in 2020, aged 41, with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. He was more than just a phenomenal basketball player and the Los Angeles Lakers superstar. Bryant was the "Girl Dad," a husband, writer, producer, philanthropist, and a truly inspirational figure for many.
Although The Black Mamba left us far too soon, he profoundly impacted basketball, culture, and the entire world. Two years before his death, Kobe wrote his first book, a basketball memoir, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play. In the book, he shared his personal perspective on life and career and his insightful playing style. However, not only his Mamba mentality was put into words and typed out. Derived from plenty of interviews, public messages, and presumably from his book, many Kobe Bryant quotes, both motivational and uplifting, serve as an inspiration for many people worldwide.
Kobe Bryant's inspirational quotes show the tenacity, ambition, and drive that made him an icon and a hero for many. Among the many motivational quotes, Kobe will forever be remembered for all he contributed to the basketball community, the city of LA, his family, and the entire world, really. Although Kobe Bryant's passing is still felt by people of all backgrounds, his unparalleled influence will never be forgotten.
Below, we've gathered some of the most inspiring quotes and quotes about working hard that demonstrate what an actual legend Kobe was. Forever in our hearts, rest in peace, Black Mamba.
Is there a Kobe Bryant quote that inspired you to reach for the heights and move mountains? Let us know!
#21
"May you always remember to enjoy the road, especially when it’s a hard one."
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#22
"Trust me, setting things up right from the beginning will avoid a ton of tears and heartache."
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#23
"From the beginning, I wanted to be the best. I had a constant craving, a yearning, to improve and be the best."
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#24
"Pain doesn’t tell you when you ought to stop. Pain is the little voice in your head that tries to hold you back because it knows if you continue you will change."
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#25
"The important thing is that your teammates have to know you're pulling for them and you really want them to be successful."
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#26
"We can always kind of be average and do what’s normal. I’m not in this to do what’s normal."
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#27
"Haters are a good problem to have. Nobody hates the good ones. They hate the great ones."
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#28
"Friends can come and go, but banners hang forever."
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#29
"There’s certain players that I’ve made cry. If I can make you cry by being sarcastic, then I really don’t want to play with you in the playoffs."
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#30
"If you do it right, your game will live on in others… So leave everything on the court. Leave the game better than you found it. And when it comes time for you to leave, leave a legend.”
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#31
"Those times when you stay up late and you work hard; those times when don’t feel like working — you’re too tired, you don’t want to push yourself — but you do it anyway. That is actually the dream. That’s the dream. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. And if you guys can understand that, what you’ll see happen is that you won’t accomplish your dreams, your dreams won’t come true, something greater will."
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#32
"As I sit here now when I take off my shoe and I look down at my scar, I see beauty in it. I see all the hard work, all the sacrifices. I see the journey that it took to get back to this point of being healthy. And I see beauty in that struggle. That's what makes it beautiful."
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#33
"Despite the fear, finish the job."
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#34
"I was never worried about my reputation—that's how I earned one. That's how I became the Black Mamba."
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#35
“I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my game, but I also wasn’t willing to sacrifice my family time. So I decided to sacrifice sleep, and that was that.”
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#36
“Good coaches tell you where the fish are, great coaches teach you how to find them.”
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#37
“If you really want to be great at something you have to truly care about it. If you want to be great in a particular area, you have to obsess over it.”
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#38
“The only aspect that can’t change, though, is that obsession.”
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#39
“The key, though, is being aware of how you’re feeling and how you need to be feeling. It all starts with awareness.”
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#40
“The message was that if you want to win championships, you have to let people focus on what they do best while you focus on what you do best. For him, that was rebounding, running the floor, and blocking shots.”
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