200+ Famous Kobe Bryant Quotes on Life, Hard Work & Success

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Here is an ultimate collection of the 200+ most famous Kobe Bryant quotes about life, hard work, success, basketball, love, winning, and more. Kobe Bryant was an American professional basketball player and a well-known figure in the NBA who thrilled fans with his playful tricks in the courts for over 20 years. Below are some…

Best Kobe Bryant Quotes min

Here is an ultimate collection of the 200+ most famous Kobe Bryant quotes about life, hard work, success, basketball, love, winning, and more.

Kobe Bryant was an American professional basketball player and a well-known figure in the NBA who thrilled fans with his playful tricks in the courts for over 20 years.

Below are some the best Kobe Bryant quotes that will inspire you to overcome every challenge and pass his legacy.

Best Kobe Bryant quotes of all time

“Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.” – Kobe Bryant

“These young guys are playing checkers. I’m out there playing chess.” – Kobe Bryant

“I don’t want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant.” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“My parents are my backbone. Still are. They’re the only group that will support you if you score zero or you score 40.” – Kobe Bryant

“There’s been a lot of talk of me being a one-man show but that’s simply not the case. We win games when I score 40 points and we’ve won when I score 10.” – Kobe Bryant

“To be an event, every single night. Something witnessed. Not just watched. I had a different drive. The kind that made people uneasy. Some people wanted me to come back down to earth. To come down to their level.To relax. But I couldn’t. It wasn’t in my DNA. Because to go where others have never gone, you have to do what others have never done.” – Kobe Bryant

“The people who truly know me know what I’m like. There have been people who try to say things that aren’t fair, and I check them. And then they don’t like me because I checked them.” – Kobe Bryant

“Eeew, I’d be a little uncomfortable Googling myself. People sit there – and Google themselves? That’s kind of weird.” – Kobe Bryant

“The only thing I’m afraid of is bees. I don’t like bees. I’m allergic to them.” – Kobe Bryant

“You want me to own a team and deal with these rich, spoiled stubborn athletes, and try to get them to perform? No thank you.” – Kobe Bryant

“If there were camera phones back in the day, the biggest athletes in the world would have had a lot of explaining to do.” – Kobe Bryant

“I don’t talk trash often, but when I do, I go for the jugular.” – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant motivational quotes

“I create my own path. It was straight and narrow. I looked at it this way: you were either in my way, or out of it.” – Kobe Bryant

“A lot of leaders fail because they don’t have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord.” – Kobe 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.” – Kobe Bryant

“Friends can come and go, but banners hang forever.” – Kobe Bryant

“Haters are a good problem to have. Nobody hates the good ones. They hate the great ones.” – Kobe Bryant

“We can always kind of be average and do what’s normal. I’m not in this to do what’s normal.” – Kobe Bryant

“Heroes come and go but legends are forever.” – Kobe Bryant

“People just don’t know how obsessed I am with winning.” – Kobe Bryant

“Be willing to sacrifice anything, but compromise nothing in your quest to be your best.” – Kobe Bryant

“Kobe knew that to be the best you need a different approach from everyone else.” – Kobe Bryant

“I had a great speaking arts teacher … who taught how to structure story, how to write story… The world revolves around storytelling, and so it serves an important role in our society at large. I get excited to try to, you know, play my small part in it.” – Kobe Bryant

“I’m used to being the villain, so to have moments like that, like when you’re not expecting a hug and you get a hug, you’re like, ‘Man, this actually feels pretty damn good.’” – Kobe Bryant

“Because I am. That’s just the maturation. That’s 17 years of seeing everything the game can dish out. I’ve seen it all before. There’s no need to get too crazy or bent out of shape. There are still challenges every day. But I’m still having fun. I was born to play this game. I still love it.” – Kobe Bryant

“Oh, yeah. But the things that make a person average are also problems. The things that make someone not good at anything at all are a problem. If you want to be the greatest of all time at something, there’s going to be a negative side to that. If you want to be a high school principal, that’s fine, too — but that will also carry negative baggage.” – Kobe Bryant

“I feel like I just returned a 100-yard kickoff in the last two minutes of the Super Bowl to win it all, only to have my run called back by a flag on the play.” – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant inspirational quotes

“The beauty in being blessed with talent is rising above doubters to create a beautiful moment.” – Kobe Bryant

“My brain… it cannot process failure. It will not process failure. Because if I sit there and have to face myself and tell myself, ‘You’re a failure’… I think that’s almost worse than death.” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success. Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.” – Kobe Bryant

“When I was young, my mindset was image, image, image. I took that approach with the media. As I became more experienced I realized: No matter what, people are going to like you or not like you. So be authentic, and let them like you or not for who you actually are. At that point, I started keeping all of my answers blunt and straightforward. I would mix in some humor and sarcasm, too. I think fans and reporters came to appreciate that, came to appreciate the real me.” – Kobe Bryant

“The moment you give up, is the moment you let someone else win.” – Kobe Bryant

“If you don’t believe in yourself, no one will do it for you” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“I was probably born a scorer, but I was made a winner. Whatever works, whatever wins championships, wins games, that’s what I do.” – Kobe Bryant

“Dear Basketball, From the moment I started rolling my dad’s tube socks and shooting imaginary game-winning shots … I fell in love with you.” – Kobe Bryant

“The motivation for me is just the game itself, just playing the game the right way and trying to win, compete every time I step out there on the floor. That’s motivation enough for me to go out there and play well.” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“I don’t just try to score. The challenge is elevating my teammates to be able to win a championship.” – Kobe Bryant

“When you start training camp, you’re building the tools necessary to win a championship. You have to have the patience.” – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant quotes on success

“Use your success, wealth and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose.” – Kobe Bryant

“I realized that intimidation didn’t really exist if you’re in the right frame of mind.” – Kobe Bryant

“Are you willing to push the right buttons even if it means being perceived as the villain? I’d rather be perceived as a winner than a good teammate. I wish they both went hand in hand all the time but that’s just not reality. I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success.” – Kobe Bryant

“Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No Excuses.” – Kobe Bryant

“The important thing is that your teammates have to know you’re pulling for them and you really want them to be successful.” – Kobe Bryant

“The most important thing is you must put everybody on notice that you’re here and you are for real. I’m not a player that is just going to come and go. I’m not a player that is going to make an All-Star team one time, two times. I’m here to be an all-time great. Once I made that commitment and said, ‘I want to be one of the greatest ever’, then the game became everything for me.” – Kobe Bryant

“I’m reflective only in the sense that I learn to move forward. I reflect with a purpose.” – Kobe Bryant

“Everyone looks at your watch and it represents who you are, your values and your personal style.” – Kobe Bryant

“We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.” – Kobe Bryant

“Sports are such a great teacher. I think of everything they’ve taught me: camaraderie, humility, how to resolve differences.” – Kobe Bryant

“What people see on court is another side of me; it’s not me.” – Kobe Bryant

“I wanna be the best, simple, and plain.” – Kobe Bryant

“I’m chasing perfection.” – Kobe Bryant

“One of the main takeaways was that you have to work hard in the dark to shine in the light. Meaning: It takes a lot of work to be successful, and people will celebrate that success, will celebrate that flash and” – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant quotes on work ethic & hard work

“Dedication sees dreams come true.” – Kobe Bryant

“I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. No matter what the injury — unless it’s completely debilitating — I’m going to be the same player I’ve always been. I’ll figure it out. I’ll make some tweaks, some changes, but I’m still coming.” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“From the beginning, I wanted to be the best. I had a constant craving, a yearning, to improve and be the best. I never needed any external forces to motivate me.” – Kobe Bryant

“After all, greatness is not for everybody.” – Kobe Bryant

“If you do not believe in yourself no one will do it for you.” – Kobe Bryant

“May you always remember to enjoy the road, especially when it’s a hard one.” – Kobe Bryant

“There is beauty in that. I mean, it’s going through the cycle. I mean, it’s the cycle that is the natural progression of growth, of maturation. I mean, there’s no sadness in that … I see the beauty in not being able to blow past defenders anymore, you know what I mean? 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 it. I’m very appreciative of what I’ve had.” – Kobe Bryant

“I’m more than comfortable just sitting back and scoring 21, 22 points or whatever and getting 10, 11 assists whatever the case might be. More than comfortable with that. It’s just a matter of the pieces that you have around you and what you can do to elevate everybody else.” – Kobe Bryant

“Can I jump over two or three guys like I used to? No. Am I as fast as I used to be? No, but I still have the fundamentals and smarts. That’s what enables me to still be a dominant player. As a kid growing up, I never skipped steps. I always worked on fundamentals because I know athleticism is fleeting.” – Kobe Bryant

“I like playing for the purple and gold. This is where I want to finish up.” – Kobe Bryant

 “I’ve been fortunate to play in Los Angeles, where there are a lot of people like me. Actors. Musicians. Businessmen. Obsessives. People who feel like God put them on Earth to do whatever it is that they do. Now, do we have time to build great relationships? Do we have time to build great friendships? No. Do we have time to socialize and to hang out aimlessly? No. Do we want to do that? No. We want to work. I enjoy working.” – Kobe Bryant 

“As a kid, I would work tirelessly on adding elements to my game. I would see something I liked in person or on film, go practice it immediately, practice it more the next day, and then go out and use it. By the time I reached the league, I had a short learning curve. I could see something, download it, and have it down pat.” – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant quotes Mamba mentality

“I create my own path. It was straight and narrow. I looked at it this way: you were either in my way, or out of it. If you were standing between me and the game, I was going to knock you on your back and not feel bad about it. I was unapologetically me. That’s all I ever wanted to be. I was never worried about my reputation – that’s how I earned one. That’s how I became the Black Mamba.” – Kobe Bryant

“You don’t want to jump into something if you’re not passionate about it.” – Kobe Bryant

“Life is too short to get bogged down and be discouraged. You have to keep moving. You have to keep going. Put one foot in front of the other, smiles and just keep on rolling.” – Kobe Bryant

“When you make a choice and say, ‘Come hell or high water, I am going to be this,’ then you should not be surprised when you are that. It should not be something that is intoxicating or out of character because you have seen this moment for so long that … when that moment comes, of course it is here because it has been here the whole time, because it has been [in your mind] the whole time.” – Kobe Bryant

“Those times when you get up early and you work hard, those times when you stay up late and you work hard, those times when you 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, then what you’ll see happen is you won’t accomplish your dreams, your dreams won’t come true; something greater will.” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“I’ve practiced and practiced and played so many times. There’s nothing truly to be afraid of, when you think about it. … I’ve failed before, and I woke up the next morning, and I’m OK.” – Kobe Bryant

“I want to learn how to become the best basketball player in the world. And if I’m going to learn that, I gotta learn from the best. Kids go to school to be doctors or lawyers, so forth and so on and that’s where they study. My place to study is from the best.” – Kobe Bryant

“Be sad. Be mad. Be frustrated. Scream. Cry. Sulk. When you wake up you will think it was just a nightmare only to realize it’s all too real. You will be angry and wish for the day back, the game back, THAT play back. But reality gives nothing back and nor should you.” – Kobe Bryant

“There’s a choice that we have to make as people, as individuals. If you want to be great at something there is a choice you have to make. We can all be masters at our craft, but you have to make a choice. What I mean by that is, there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that — family time, hanging out with your friends, being a great friend. being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with that.” – Kobe Bryant

“I never looked at [basketball] as work. I didn’t realize it was work until my first year in the NBA. When I came around, I was surrounded by other professionals and I thought basketball was going to be everything to them and it wasn’t. And I was like, ‘This is different.’ I thought everybody was so obsessive about the game like me. It was like, no? Oh, that’s hard work. I get it now.” – Kobe Bryant

“Winning takes precedence over all. There’s no gray area. No almosts.” – Kobe Bryant

“I see the beauty in not being able to blow past defenders anymore, you know what I mean? 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.” – Kobe Bryant

“Leadership is lonely… I’m not going to be afraid of confrontation to get us to where we need to go. 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.” – Kobe Bryant

“The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great at whatever they want to do.” – Kobe Bryant

“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. That was around the time I realized that intimidation didn’t really exist if you’re in the right frame of mind.” – Kobe Bryant

“You are responsible for how people remember you – or don’t. So don’t take it lightly. If you do it right, your game will live on in others. You’ll be imitated and emulated by those you played with, those you played against and those who never saw you play at all. 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.” – Kobe Bryant

“Learn to love the hate. Embrace it. Enjoy it. You earned it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and everyone should have one about you. Haters are a good problem to have. Nobody hates the good ones. They hate the great ones.” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“Once you know what failure feels like, determination chases success.” – Kobe Bryant

“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. Don’t let it stop you from being who you can be. Exhaustion tells you when you ought to stop. You only reach your limit when you can go no further.” – Kobe Bryant

“I’m going to do what I always do: I’m going to break it down to its smallest form, smallest detail, and go after it. Day by day, one day at a time.” – Kobe Bryant

“If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail.” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant quotes on winning

“Either way, I refuse to change what I am. A lion has to eat. Run with me or run from me.” – Kobe Bryant

“This is the moment I accept the most challenging times will always be behind me AND in front of me.” – Kobe Bryan

“The odd thing is that I wound up learning more about the world around me by having a singular focus inside of me.” – Kobe Bryant

“Determination silences doubters” – Kobe Bryant

“Losers visualize the penalties of failure. Winners visualize the rewards of success” – Kobe Bryant

“Passion is the fuel for success” – Kobe Bryant

“People just don’t understand how obsessed I am with winning.” – Kobe Bryant

“I’m extremely willful to win, and I respond to challenges. Scoring titles and stuff like that… it sounds, well, I don’t care how it sounds – to me, scoring comes easy. It’s not a challenge to me to win the scoring title, because I know I can.” – Kobe Bryant

“I don’t think a coach becomes the right coach until he wins a championship.” – Kobe Bryant

“It never bothered me when people would say, ‘You only win championships because you’re playing with Shaq.’ It bothered me when he said it.” – Kobe Bryant

“In an individual sport, yes, you have to win titles. Baseball’s different. But basketball, hockey? One person can control the tempo of a game, can completely alter the momentum of a series. There’s a lot of great individual talent.” – Kobe Bryant

“Losing is losing, there aren’t different degrees of losing. You either win a championship or you’re s**t. It’s very black & white to me.” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant quotes on practice

“We don’t quit, we don’t cower, we don’t run. We endure and conquer.” – Kobe Bryant

“It’s basketball. I’ve practiced and practiced and played so many times. There’s nothing truly to be afraid of, when you think about it. … I’ve failed before, and I woke up the next morning, and I’m OK. People say bad things about you in the paper on Monday, and then on Wednesday, you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. I’ve seen that cycle, so why would I be nervous about it happening?” – Kobe Bryant

“It’s a long journey but if you focus on the mini milestones along the way you will find beauty in the struggle of doing simple things that … were taken for granted. This will also mean that when you return you will have a new perspective. You will be so appreciative of being able to stand, walk, run that you will train harder than you ever have. You see the belief within you grow with each mini milestone and you will come back a better player for it.” – Kobe Bryant

“We all know what flopping is when we see it. The stuff that you see is where guys aren’t really getting hit at all and are just flailing around like a fish out of water.” – Kobe Bryant

“Magic has five championships. I have five championships. I’m pretty sure we both know what we’re doing.” – Kobe Bryant

“I’m not the most patient of people.” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“It’s different from being 21 and you think there’s endless amount of opportunities. At 33, the ending is much, much closer.” – Kobe Bryant

“If I panic, everyone else panics.” – Kobe Bryant

“What I mean by that is: if I wanted to implement something new into my game, I’d see it and try incorporating it immediately. I wasn’t scared of missing, looking bad, or being embarrassed. That’s because I always kept the end result, the long game, in my mind. I always focused on the fact that I had to try something to get it, and once I got it, I’d have another tool in my arsenal. If the price was a lot of work and a few missed shots, I was OK with that.” – Kobe Bryant

“When everyone else was thinking it was time for bed, his mind was telling him it’s time to get ahead of the competition.” – Kobe Bryant

“If you want to be a better player, you have to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more.” – Kobe Bryant

“Good coaches, however, teach you how to think and arm you with the fundamental tools necessary to execute properly.” – Kobe Bryant

“It’s just consistency. That’s all it is, consistency. You don’t build an entire package of the game on one summer. You focus on one or two things throughout the summer… You master those things. Then the following summer, you focus on another one or two things. Then the following summer, it’s another one or two things. Five years from now, you have a game that has no weaknesses in it. But it’s not done in one summer. It’s about having a five-year plan, a ten-year plan, and understanding how to get there.” – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant quotes on leadership

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“Use your success, wealth and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose. Put them through school, set them up with job interviews and help them become leaders in their own right. Hold them to the same level of hard work and dedication that it took for you to get to where you are now, and where you will eventually go.” – Kobe Bryant

“If you are going to be a leader, you’re not going to please everybody. You got to hold people accountable, even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable.” – Kobe Bryant

“You got to do what you love to do. I love telling stories. I love inspiring kids or providing them with tools that are going to help them.” – Kobe Bryant

“I reflect with a purpose.” – Kobe Bryant

“I draw from the crowd a lot.” – Kobe Bryant

“It’s hard for me to grasp the concept of somebody being nervous when I’m talking to them.” – Kobe Bryant

“Not even in my dreams. That was something that just happened. It’s tough to explain. It’s just one of those things.” – Kobe Bryant

“Despite fear, finish the job.” – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant quotes about sports

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“When I have the chance to guard Michael Jordan, I want to guard him. I want him. It’s the ultimate challenge. I don’t want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant.” – Kobe Bryant

“The process of it [drives me to come back]. I want to see if I can. I don’t know if I can. I want to find out. I want to see. I’m going to do what I always do: I’m going to break it down to its smallest form, smallest detail, and go after it. Day by day, one day at a time.” – Kobe Bryant

“Sports is such a great teacher. I think of everything they’ve taught me: camaraderie, humility, how to resolve differences.” – Kobe Bryant

“Being passive aggressive in this competition means you’re fine with simply going with the flow and unwilling to disturb the calm waters of the game to accomplish your goals.” – Kobe Bryant

“Everything I saw, heard, read, or felt was viewed through the lens of growing as a basketball player. This perspective makes me curious about everything, makes everything interesting, and means that life is a living library where all I need to do is pay attention.” – Kobe Bryant

“I saw things differently. I didn’t want to do what others had done. That didn’t drive me, didn’t get me in the gym before others got up. I wanted to do one better. Actually, I wanted to do a lot better. There were players I looked up to until I looked them square in the eyes. I know that one day, when I left the game, I didn’t actually want to leave. I wanted to leave my mark.” – Kobe 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. If you do it right, your game will live on in others. You’ll be imitated and emulated by those you played with, those you played against and those who never saw you play at all. 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.” – Kobe Bryant

“I would go 0-for-30 [from the field] before I would go 0-for-9. 0-for-9 means you beat yourself, you psyched yourself out of the game. … The only reason is because you’ve just now lost confidence in yourself.” – Kobe Bryant

“If I wanted to play, I’d still be playing for the Lakers. The health thing I could’ve figured out…I just don’t want to play anymore.” – Kobe Bryant

“We’re happy – until next January when people start talking about trading one of us.” – Kobe Bryant

“you can manipulate an opponent’s strength and use it against them.” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“You have to dance beautifully in the box that you’re comfortable dancing in. My box was to be extremely ambitious within the sport of basketball. Your box is different than mine. Everybody has their own. It’s your job to try to perfect it and make it as beautiful of a canvas as you can make it. And if you have done that, then you have lived a successful life. You have lived with Mamba Mentality.” – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant quotes about life

“Have a good time. Life is too short to get bogged down and be discouraged. You have to keep moving. You have to keep going. Put one foot in front of the other, smile and just keep on rolling.” – Kobe Bryant

“It doesn’t bother me at all. Do I hold any hard feelings? Not at all. Life is too short to sit around and hold grudges. I don’t hold any whatsoever.” – Kobe Bryant

“Boos don’t block dunks.” – Kobe Bryant

“I just got one more than Shaq. So you can take that to the bank.” – Kobe Bryant

“Better learn not to talk to me. You shake the tree, a leopard’s gonna fall out.” – Kobe Bryant

“Because I don’t want chumps, I don’t want pushovers, and if you’re a chump and a pushover, I will run over you.” – Kobe Bryant

About Shaq’s work ethic: “It used to drive me crazy that he was so lazy. You got to have the responsibility of working every single day. You can’t skate through s–.” — Kobe Bryant

“I don’t give a [expletive] what you say. If I go out there and miss game winners, and people say, ‘Kobe choked, or Kobe is seven for whatever in pressure situations.’ Well, [expletive] you.”  – Kobe Bryant

“It’s an intentional pass to oneself, so it’s an assist. That way people can’t say all I do is shoot.”  – Kobe Bryant

“Would people be celebrating me if I scored 138 points? You know how it is; some people would, some people wouldn’t. They can all kiss my a– as I’m sure he feels the same way. If you score 138 points, you kind of have a license to tell people to f— off.”  – Kobe Bryant

“Take it all in. Sit back and watch and listen and hear all the hate that’s being thrown at us and remember every person that’s kicking you when you’re down, because next year it ain’t gonna be this way. Appreciate it now. Let it sit in now, because revenge is sweet and it’s quick.”  – Kobe Bryant

“The Black Mamba collection of watches is me: It is my alter ego, so to speak. As I mentioned before, it is sharp, cutting edge and sleek which are characteristics I try to apply when I’m out there on the basketball court.”  – Kobe Bryant

“All the training and sacrifice just flew out the window with one step that I’ve done millions of times! The frustration is unbearable. The anger is rage. Why the hell did this happen?!?Makes no damn sense. Now I’m supposed to come back from this and be the same player or better at 35?!? How in the world am I supposed to do that?? I have NO CLUE. Do I have the consistent will to overcome this thing? Maybe I should break out the rocking chair and reminisce on the career that was. Maybe this is how my book ends. Maybe Father Time has defeated me… Then again maybe not!”  – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant quotes about family

“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.”  – Kobe Bryant

“You need to figure out a way to invest in the future of your family and friends. This sounds simple, and you may think it’s a no-brainer, but take some time to think on it further. I said INVEST. I did not say GIVE.” – Kobe Bryant

“What a journey this has been. Setting this mark is a huge honor. I’m aware of Father Time’s curfew. He has sent me to my room to brush my teeth before he tucks me in, but I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t walk to the bathroom slowly. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t act as if someone misplaced the toothpaste. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t brush every tooth twice, brush my tongue three times, floss until my gums bleed and rinse with mouthwash until the inside of my mouth burns and then goes numb.” – Kobe Bryant

“Christmas morning, I’m going to open presents with my kids. I’m going to take pictures of them opening the presents. Then I’m going to come to the Staples Center and get ready to work.”  – Kobe Bryant

“It’s disgusting, but my father taught me when your mouth gets dry, just suck the sweat out of your own jersey. There’s no bravado to any of it; it’s just a disgusting little trick.”  – Kobe Bryant

“If you want to be great at something, there’s a choice you have to make. What I mean by that is, there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that. Family time, hanging out with friends, being a great friend, being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be.”  – Kobe Bryant

“The best thing that happens when we go out, fans will come up to me and she’ll be standing next to me and they’ll be like, ‘Hey, you gotta have a boy! You and V gotta have a boy to have somebody to carry on the tradition and the legacy.’ She’s like, ‘Hey, I got this! You don’t need a boy for that.’”  – Kobe Bryant

“When I was growing up in Italy, I grew up in isolation. It was not an environment suited to me. I was the only black kid. I didn’t speak the language. I’d be in one city, but then we’d move to a different city and I’d have to do everything again. I’d make friends, but I’d never be part of the group, because the other kids were already growing up together. So this is how I grew up, and these are the weaknesses that I have.”  – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant quotes on fatherhood and raising daughters

“Be thankful that you’ve been given that gift because girls are amazing, I would have five more girls if I could. I’m a girl dad.”  – Kobe Bryant

“She’s a monster, She’s a beast. She’s better than I was at her age. She’s got it.”  – Kobe Bryant

“What I love about Gigi is her curiosity about the game, She’s very curious. Even in a heated situation in a game where it’s going back and forth, she can detach herself and come to me and ask a very specific question, which is not common.”  – Kobe Bryant

“I want to make sure the days that I’m away from them are days that I absolutely have to be, I’d rather be with them than doing anything else.”  – Kobe Bryant

“I had to figure out a way where I could still train and focus on the craft, but still not compromise family time.That’s when I looked into helicopters to be able to get down and back in 15 minutes.”  – Kobe Bryant

“I can be an absolute teddy bear when I’m at home with my family, with my kids enjoying that family time.”  – Kobe Bryant

“You got to do what you love to do, I love telling stories. I love inspiring kids or providing them with tools that are going to help them.”  – Kobe Bryant

“Every year, we go and watch ‘The Nutcracker,’ We try to make a gingerbread house, but my wife and the kids do a much, much better job than I do! I’ll put it that way.”  – Kobe Bryant

“We try to teach the kids what excellence looks like, We try to give them a foundation of the amount of work that it takes to be excellent.”  – Kobe Bryant

“I love having girls, I’m super, super excited about that. [Vanessa] is as well. She wanted a boy so he can be mama’s boy forever — that sort of thing. We’ll see if I can deliver.”  – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant quotes love & relationship

“I played through the sweat and hurt Not because challenge called me But because YOU called me. I did everything for YOU Because that’s what you do. When someone makes you feel as Alive as you’ve made me feel.” – Kobe Bryant 

“The examples are endless but my philosophy is simple. Once I knew my seed, I was able to discover my muse and my purpose for being was crystal clear.” – Kobe Bryant

“Trust me, setting things up right from the beginning will avoid a ton of tears and heartache…” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“Hi, I’m Kobe Bryant. And I have decided to take my talent to, uh… I have decided to skip college and take my talent to the NBA.” – Kobe Bryant

“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 Bryant

“I remember feeling the silence. I remember feeling the fear. I’m like, ‘This could be a wrap.’ And that’s what the silence was. It was like, ‘This could really be a wrap for you.” – Kobe Bryant

“I’m playing against great players, playing against the best in the world. The competition – that’s what I’ve always wanted.” – Kobe Bryant

“I fell in love with you — a love so deep that I gave it my all, from my mind and body to my spirit and soul.” – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant quotes on mental toughness

“After being ranked the 40th best player in the NBA by ESPN: “I’ve known for a long time they’re a bunch of idiots… I tend to use things as motivation that tend to be in the realm of reality.” – Kobe Bryant

“I focus on one thing and one thing only – that’s trying to win as many championships as I can.” – Kobe Bryant

“When I have the chance to guard Michael Jordan, I want to guard him. I want him. It’s the ultimate challenge.” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“Kobe was once asked, what he would do if his hand fell off and was forced to retire?: “Even then, you could still play with one hand.”  – Kobe Bryant

“I don’t f— with bees, man. Other than that, I’m not afraid of nothing.” – Kobe Bryant

“I’d rather not have to do that, but you can’t sit back and watch crime happen in front of you.” – Kobe Bryant

“What does it matter? What does he want, a cookie for that?” – 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.” – Kobe Bryant

“One thing you gotta know about me is I have absolutely no filter. I have no problem saying what the hell I think of someone.” – Kobe Bryant

“The mindset isn’t about seeking a result—it’s more about the process of getting to that result. It’s about the journey and the approach. It’s a way of life. I do think that it’s important, in all endeavors, to have that mentality.” – Kobe Bryant

Famous Kobe Bryant quotes

“The biggest dreams aren’t fueled by belief. They’re fueled by doubt.” – Kobe Bryant

“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’re a failure,’ I think that is … almost worse than death.” – Kobe Bryant

“I close my eyes and just reminisce. That’s what keeps me sane.” – Kobe Bryant

“I feel like killing everybody every time I go to the arena.” – Kobe Bryant

“I was like a wild horse that had the potential to become Secretariat, but who was just too f***ing wild. So part of that was [Phil Jackson] trying to tame me.” – Kobe Bryant

“A lot of people say they want to be great, but they’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness. They have other concerns, whether important or not, and they spread themselves out. That’s totally fine. After all, greatness is not for everybody.” – Kobe Bryant

“The only aspect that can’t change, though, is that obsession.” – Kobe Bryant

“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.” – Kobe Bryant

“To do that, despite the injury, I had to maintain control and dictate where I was going to go with the ball and how I was going to play. I had to, even on one ankle, keep the advantage in my court and never let the defense force me to do something I didn’t want to do. That was the key here, and that’s the key always.” – Kobe Bryant

“One of the qualities that has made Kobe so successful, and always will, is his attention to detail. He always used to tell us: if you want to be a better player, you have to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more.” – Kobe Bryant

FAQs | Motivational Kobe Bryant quotes

Here are some frequently asked questions about Kobe Bryant quotes.

Who was Kobe Bryant?

Kobe Bryant was an American professional basketball player and a well-known figure in the NBA who thrilled fans with his playful tricks in the courts for over 20 years.

What is Kobe Bryant famous for?

Kobe Bryant is famous for being one of the best basketball players of all time. He received several awards and recognitions.

How did Kobe Bryant die?

On January 26, 2020, the sports world was shocked to learn the news about Kobe’s death. Kobe died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas with his daughter Gianna and including 7 other people. More than a million messages of heartbreak and remembrance blew up on social media spread around the globe.

Final thoughts on Kobe Bryant quotes

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