57+ Best Kobe Bryant Quotes From The Laker Great

Our Kobe Bryant quotes provide a glimpse into one of the hardest-working and most talented players ever to lace up and play the game. The Los Angeles Lakers star carried his team to many victories.

Bryant’s “Mamba Mentality,” a term he used for his competitive approach, impacted players, coaches, and fans.

A prolific scorer, he was known for his strict work ethic and hot streaks shooting the ball. Reading this collection will put all basketball players and coaches in the right frame of mind for the basketball season.

Quotes From Kobe Bryant

If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail.
What people see on the court is another side of me; it’s not me.
The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.
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.
I’m just so excited—we all are. We’ve been waiting for this [the gold medal] for years now, and it’s finally here. This meant so much. It just felt so good.
Everybody wants to talk about NBA players being selfish and arrogant and individuals. But what you saw today was team bonding and facing adversity and coming out with a big win.
Once you know what failure feels like, determination chases success.
For us to be the team that got him that historic 10th championship is special for us.
I just got one more than Shaq. You can take that to the bank.
If you want to be great at something, there’s a choice you have to make. We all can be masters at our craft, but you have to make a choice… there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that.

Check out Greatness Quotes.

Best Kobe Bryant Quotes

I’m chasing perfection.
I don’t have to hear that criticism, that idiotic criticism anymore.
My role is to make sure we’re moving in the right direction, getting points, rebounds, steals, assists, and providing leadership.
Family time, hanging out with friends, being a great friend, being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with making that decision.
I realized that intimidation didn’t really exist if you’re in the right frame of mind.
Haters are a good problem to have. Nobody hates the good ones. They hate the great ones.
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.
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.
And if you guys can understand that, then what you’ll see happen is you won’t accomplish your dreams, your dreams won’t come true; something greater will.
We psyche 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.
I’ve practiced and practiced and played so many times. There’s nothing truly to be afraid of when you think about it.

Basketball Quotations

People just don’t understand how obsessed I am with winning.
I’m focused on the task that lies ahead for us.
I would go 0-for-30 [from the floor] before I would go 0-for-9. 0-for-9 means you beat yourself, you psyched yourself out of the game.
These young guys are playing checkers. I’m out there playing chess.
I grew up in front of these people, and now they are seeing me as an ‘older’ young man.
I love going one-on-one with someone. That’s what I do. I’ve never lost. It’s a whole different game, just to have them right in front of you and be able to do whatever you want.

Kobe’s Takes

I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena, and I’m like, ‘My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don’t have it. I just want to chill.’ We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.
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.
You have to hold people accountable. Even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable.
The last time I was intimidated was when I was 6 years old in karate class. I was an orange belt, and the instructor ordered me to fight a black belt who was a couple years older and a lot bigger. I was scared s—less. I mean, I was terrified, and he kicked my ass. But then I realized he didn’t kick my ass as bad as I thought he was going to and that there was nothing really to be afraid of.

See the Kobe Bryant Day page.

Kobe Sayings

Magic has five championships. I have five championships. I’m pretty sure we both know what we’re doing.
I don’t just try to score. The challenge is elevating my teammates to be able to win a championship.
Everything negative — pressure, challenges — is all an opportunity for me to rise.
See How Many Rings Kobe Won
At the end of 2003, my game was complete. Shooting, defense, using the dribble, transition, and midrange stuff were all there. Then it was about fine-tuning and trying to improve in each area.
I’m playing against great players, playing against the best in the world. The competition—that’s what I’ve always wanted.
We are obsessive; we wouldn’t want to be doing anything other than what we are doing. That’s where the obsession comes in – when you care about something 24 hours a day.
The beauty in being blessed with talent is rising above doubters to create a beautiful moment.
Use your success, wealth, and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose.
The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.
Winning takes precedence over all. There’s no gray area. No almosts.
Once you know what failure feels like, determination chases success.

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Black Mamba Quotes

I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.
Sometimes, I do wonder what college would have been like. But I made my decision.
My parents are my backbone. Still are. They’re the only group that will support you if you score zero or you score 40.
You might like the Ben Simmons Profile.
What I’m doing right now—I’m chasing perfection.
I don’t want to be the next Michael Jordan; I only want to be Kobe Bryant.
As far as carrying the torch for the years to come, I don’t know. I just want to be the best basketball player I can be.
I didn’t expect this award [the 2008 MVP] would come to me. I’m surprised. I’ve played pretty well in other seasons. Our team hasn’t been as good. Things just fell into place.

Check out Kawhi Leonard Stats.

Laker Great Kobe Bryant Quotes

I love the weather, I love my ’63 droptop Impala, I love the 405, and I love my guys.
This is an award I couldn’t have won on my own. I can’t thank these guys enough. These are my guys. These are my brothers.
I draw from the crowd a lot.
The topic of leadership is a touchy one. A lot of leaders fail because they don’t have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord. Throughout my years, I haven’t had that fear.
If they want to win right now, I’m all for it. That’s all I said the whole time. If you want to wait five years, let me know. My legs aren’t as young as they used to be.
You have to be able to separate business from the love of the game. There were a lot of decisions made business-wise that I wasn’t happy with, and I took a lot of blame over the years. But you have to be able to separate that from the love you have for the game.
I’ll just cold-call people and pick their brains about stuff. Some of the questions that I’ll ask will seem really, really simple and stupid, quite honestly, for them. But if I don’t know, I don’t know. You have to ask. I’ll just do that. I’ll just ask questions, and I want to know more about how they build their businesses and how they run their companies, and how they see the world.

What Others Say About Kobe

You’d walk in there, and he’d be cutting and grunting and motioning like he was dribbling and shooting – except there was no ball. I thought it was weird, but I’m pretty sure it helped him.
Shaquille ONeal
He often corrals teammates, fires up the laptop, and shows them precisely how they can carve out easier shots for themselves.
Jackie McMullan, ESPN
Allen Iverson loves to play when the lights come on. Kobe loves doing the s— before the lights come on.
An NBA Scout
For fathers, he just really showed dads and really was a great example to all dads out there on just spending time with your kids and really supporting them in what they loved to do. I think he was a real great example. He had a worldwide influence. You know, very few athletes get to be bigger than life and get to go to that level, and you can name them all. He reached that stratosphere.
Magic Johnson

I hope you enjoyed these Kobe Bryant quotes.

By Mike O’Halloran

Founder and Editor, Sports Feel Good Stories

Mike O’Halloran founded Sports Feel Good Stories in 2009. He co-authored four trivia books for kids under the Smart Attack line. Mike coached basketball for 15 seasons, taught tennis, and has written four books on basketball coaching. He has been a contributing writer for USA Football, the youth arm of the NFL. Mike is the founder of the Fantasy Football Team Names Hall of Fame.