Late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant had an eccentric way of treating his alter ego, ‘The Black Mamba’
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Kobe Bryant’s fame and name far exceeded the sport of basketball and its community. The Lakers legend carried his team to 5 hard-fought championships. In his 20-year career, Bryant amassed countless stories and legends. Players who clashed with him on the court speak of his competitiveness and fierceness with reverence.
To be honest, who wouldn’t? Kobe was as fierce as they get. He could do everything and is arguably the greatest two-way player to ever step on the court.
His unstoppable offense and unbreakable defense weren’t the only things that birthed legendary stories. He was as eccentric and outstanding outside of the court. One such story that represents Kobe’s larger-than-life outlook toward the world is how he would book extra seats when he went to restaurants.
Kobe Bryant refused to go out to eat without booking extra seats for ‘Black Mamba’
Bean, like many greats, had his own process to maintain that greatness. One of which was treating his alter ego Black Mamba like a separate entity. By doing so, Kobe could keep his personal and ruthless professional life, and his personal life separate. To be honest, staying the same competitive self that Kobe displayed on the court all the time would have utterly exhausted the 18-time All-Star.
It is no wonder, therefore, that he chose to create two clear, distinct personalities. But what happened when Kobe wanted to go out to eat? Well, naturally, he booked seats for the Mamba too.
Tim Grover, who trained Michael Jordan and Bryant, revealed that Kobe would book two seats for mamba mentality whenever he went out to dinner.
Grover: “We finished a game, Kobe and I decide to go out to eat in a restaurant … and he goes, ‘I need a table for four.’ I’m like, ‘It’s just the two of us.’ I didn’t ask. I didn’t ask.”
He continued: “I said, ‘Kobe, who are those seats filled with? He goes, ‘Wherever I go’ … where they say, ‘everyone tries to hide their skeletons,’ he goes, ‘I bring everything and all of me with me. The good, the bad, the indifferent. And those seats are for those individuals because they make me who I am”
Bryant would order drinks for the Black Mamba
But it wasn’t enough for #24 to just book seats for his alter ego. Bryant being Bryant, he had to take the whole process to the next level.
So, what’s even more eccentric than booking two seats for the mamba mentality? Ordering them tequila!
Grover: “There were drinks sitting all the way around. And then those other two drinks were sitting there before he was getting ready to leave; I just looked at him. There was two shots of tequila. He walked out, and I took the two shots real quick. You can’t leave good tequila on the table”
When you are a player who’s made a fortune of $323 million by just balling, ordering a few extra drinks or reserving a few extra seats isn’t a big deal. Though it does make you think, are all greats as eccentric?
