Kobe Bryant Quotes to Inspire and Motivate You (2024)

There will never be another Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba went down as one of the greatest players in NBA history, for his scoring and clutch play. Really, Bryant’s ability to be great came down to his mentality. No one had the drive and determination to be great and win like Kobe Bryant. That focus, also known as the ‘Mamba Mentality,’ became a calling card for Bryant throughout his career. That career, which started right out of high school saw Kobe Bryant drafted 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets before being traded to the Lakers. In Los Angeles, he became a legend. The eighteen time all-star played for two decades, winning five championships there in a Hall of Fame career.

Kobe Bryant died on January 26, 2020, alongside his daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash. He is remembered by his surviving family, fans, and the sports world. He leaves behind a legacy as one of the best to ever play the game of basketball, as well as some amazing quotes.

10 Best Quotes From Kobe Bryant

1. “From the beginning, I wanted to be the best. I had a constant craving, a yearning, to improve and be the best.”
2. “Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.”
3. “I’ve played with IVs before, during and after games. I’ve played with a broken hand, a sprained ankle, a torn shoulder, a fractured tooth, a severed lip, and a knee the size of a softball. I don’t miss 15 games because of a toe injury that everybody knows wasn’t that serious in the first place.”
4. “When I have the chance to guard Michael Jordan, I want to guard him. I want him. It’s the ultimate challenge.”
5. “I can’t relate to lazy people. We don’t speak the same language. I don’t understand you. I don’t want to understand you.”
6. “I’ve shot too much from the time I was 8 years old. But ‘too much’ is a matter of perspective. Some people thought Mozart had too many notes in his compositions. Let me put it this way: I entertain people who say I shoot too much. I find it very interesting. Going back to Mozart, he responded to critics by saying there were neither too many notes or too few. There were as many as necessary.”
7. “If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail.”
8. “After all, greatness is not for everybody.”
9. “I don’t want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant.”
10. “Trust me, setting things up right from the beginning will avoid a ton of tears and heartache.”

Inspirational Quotes From Bryant

• “It’s the one thing you can control. You are responsible for how people remember you—or don’t. So don’t take it lightly.”
• “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.”
• “Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.”
• “I saw you come in and I wanted you to know that it doesn’t matter how hard you work, that I’m willing to work harder than you.”
• “Dedication makes dreams come true.”
• “If you see me in a fight with a bear, pray for the bear.”

Leadership Quotes From Kobe Bryant

• “The beauty of coaching is growing the players from the ground up. That journey continues.”
• “A lot of leaders fail because they don’t have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord.”
• “Use your success, wealth, and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose.”
• “Leadership is lonely. I’m not going to be afraid of confrontation to get us to where we need to go.”

Funny Quotes From Bryant

• “I don’t f**k with bees, man. Other than that, I’m not afraid of nothing.”
• “These young guys are playing checkers. I’m out there playing chess.”
• “Losing is losing. There aren’t different degrees of losing. You either win a championship or you’re sh*t. It’s very black and white to me.”

Team Attitude Quotes From Kobe Bryant

• “I had to organize things. So I created the ‘Black Mamba’. So Kobe has to deal with these issues, all the personal challenges. The Black Mamba steps on the court and does what he does. I’m destroying everybody that steps on the court.”
• “I see the beauty in getting up in the morning and being in pain because I know all the hard work that it took to get to this point. So, I’m not, I’m not sad about [retiring]. I’m very appreciative of what I’ve had.”
• “We psych ourselves up too much. Like if you try to talk yourself into, ‘Oh, this is a big moment, this is a big shot,’ you’re putting a lot of pressure on yourself. You shot that shot hundreds and thousands of times. Just shoot another one.”
• “You guys know how I am. I don’t forget anything”
• “I never needed any external forces to motivate me.”

Success Quotes From Bryant

• “Once you know what failure feels like, determination chases success.”
• “There’s a big misconception where people thinking winning or success comes from everybody putting their arms around each other and singing kumbaya and patting them on the back when they mess up, and that’s just not reality. If you are going to be a leader, you are not going to please everybody. You have to hold people accountable. Even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable.”
• “There’s nothing truly to be afraid of, when you think about it, because I’ve failed before, and I woke up the next morning, and I’m OK.”
• “When we are saying this cannot be accomplished, this cannot be done, then we are short-changing ourselves. My brain—it cannot process failure. It will not process failure. Because if I have to sit there and face myself and tell myself ‘You are a failure,’ I think that is almost worse than dying.”