“Like Kobe Bryant, She Saw Shaquille O’Neal as Overweight”: Vanessa Bryant Fed Black Mamba’s Ego to Nullify Joe Bryant’s ‘Badgering’

Kobe Bryant was always a stubborn player. Too dogmatic to challenge his beliefs. Perhaps that’s what made him the Black Mamba. A one-track mind continuously nudging him towards perfection. For Bryant, nothing mattered more than excelling at basketball.

Early on success and love from the Lakers fans fueled the fire within him. He became more and more obsessed with trying to do everything himself. Everyone tried to get him to become less selfish and to think about the team. But Kobe did not change.

When he found Vanessa, he found another person egging him on. She was the kerosine to his flame. Vanessa, like Bryant, believed in the absolute top and her husband’s potential to reach it.

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Vanessa encouraged Kobe Bryant to remain steadfast

Kobe was already on a path to success. His potential was clear to all. He could do things only Michael Jordan had before him. But his increasing skill also added to his swelling ego. Vanessa added to it by supporting Bryant in all his endeavors.

Even as the animosity between Kobe and Shaquille O’Neal grew, she accepted her husband’s claims that Shaq was unfit to lead. In contrast to Vanessa, Joe Bryant had been much more critical of his sons.

He would often call out the mistakes and the negatives. Bryant’s parents, until Vanessa entered their son’s life, controlled most of Kobe’s decisions. However, with Vanessa in his life, things quickly changed.

In his book Three-Ring Circus, Jeff Pearlman wrote of this in detail.

Pearlman: “One thing Bryant’s fiancée excelled at was telling her man he was the best. While Joe Bryant often focused on the negatives and the flaws, Vanessa was all about the talent. Like Kobe, she saw O’Neal as overweight and indifferent; saw Jackson as a coach who didn’t fully appreciate the gift he had before him. What Kobe Bryant received from Vanessa was the one thing he did not need: encouragement to remain steadfast and stubborn. So he remained steadfast and stubborn.”

Vanessa Bryant emotional goodbye to Kobe Bryant: “Babe you take care of our GiGi … I got Nani, BB, and Coco. We are still the best team.” https://t.co/5D939J5pcn pic.twitter.com/4Eh2P2PS0Z

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) February 24, 2020

Vanessa Bryant remained by Kobe’s side

Vanessa was just a teen when she married Kobe. They were both young and madly in love. She was perhaps enamored by his stardom at first but she soon settled really well into his lifestyle. Kobe likely did the same.

Through thick and thin, Vanessa stayed by her husband’s side. They raised a beautiful family together but the 2020 tragedy wreaked havoc on their bliss. Kobe passed away in a heart-wrenching accident along with his daughter Gigi. But Vanessa’s dedication to her husband continues in her devotion to their family.

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