十三順位，高中生跳級NBA。五個冠軍、單場八十一分、兩屆FMVP、一屆MVP、兩次得分王。
十八次入選全明星，十一次NBA最佳陣容。二十年NBA生涯，可得、應得的榮耀囊括滿手，但Kobe Bryant也是少數退役後仍積極活躍，在不同領域大放異彩的傳奇人物。
作為籃球員，他的魅力當然來自實力與成就，但球員場上競爭粉絲場下亦然，喜歡者多、討厭者眾，特別的是不管站哪一邊，你就是會想看他的比賽。
"Love me or hate me, it's one or the other. Always has been. Hate my game, my swagger. Hate my fadeaway, my hunger. Hate that I'm a veteran. A champion. Hate that. Hate it with all your heart. And hate that I'm loved, for the exact same reasons.”
Kobe Bryant並不完美。輝煌數據下，生涯結算不算頂尖的命中率和濫投一直是他通往偉大之路上被抨擊、揶揄的缺陷。但你會尊敬他。尤其站在他的對立面，你會懼怕，知道他鐵打得再響也不會認輸，執著讓這份不完美成為浪漫，而他的努力讓一切都有可能。
退休戰前他的冠軍戰友Shaquille O'neal要他拿下五十分。看似不可能的任務，最後他用驚人的六十分完成逆轉勝。
最後一刻彷彿他職業生涯的縮影。如果只看前幾分鐘幾顆偏差投籃的表現，你怎麼猜得到這精彩的結局？
越到了生涯晚期，人們對於Kobe Bryant的討論已經不再是他哪一球多漂亮、他有多厲害，而是他獨特、強悍的競爭態度。十三順位。在天賦滿溢的NBA賽場上，他的體能只能算是領先而非真正頂尖。但到了他意外殞落，帶領他五度奪冠的教練Phil Jackson，同時也是籃球之神Micheal Jordan的冠軍教練稱呼Kobe Bryant為天選之人(Chosen One)。
他同期的競爭對手Allen Iverson發表的聲明中提到：
"It's one memory of him that I can't stop thinking about. It was our rookie season and my first trip to LA for a game against the Lakers. He came to my hotel, picked me up and took me to a restaurant. When we returned before he left, he asked me, "What are you going to do tonight?" My reply was, "I'm going to the club, what are you going to do?" He said, "I'm going to the gym." That is who he always was, a true student of the game of basketball and also the game of life. He prepared relentlessly. There is something we can all learn from the "Mamba" mentality and from the way my brother lived his life. He will always have my respect as a competitor, as a friend, as a brother.”
冠軍是一時的，籃球不是每個人都喜歡，但他堅持了二十年，甚至在退役後仍不斷挑戰極限的精神，默默地影響了這個世代。
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."
他是努力的天才。
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你能想像一個籃球員退役後得到奧斯卡獎嗎？
他在帶她女兒GiGi參加比賽的路上遭遇了這個意外，自始自終，至少都是他最深愛的籃球。
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難以接受的是，我們正在見證Kobe邁向人生的第二個巔峰。見證他終於變成了一個愛家的男人，疼愛女兒，也將天賦、經驗、一切傳承了下去。
可惜的是他們一起離開了。
有多少機會可以這樣看著一個人的人生大起大落二十幾年？不管你喜不喜歡、認不認同，都跟著他過了好久好久。
更不用說，熱愛籃球這項運動的人，有多少人曾經投籃時喊過一聲：「Kobe！」，常常也不知道是為了什麼。
只是原本覺得離這天還很遙遠，四十一歲，再偉大的人物終將慢慢凋零，但這意外來得實在太突然，難免感嘆人生無償。
有一群人跟著他一起長大，走在這個進程上，從桀傲不馴，到努力成就，到終於有點累積，開始邁向不同的挑戰。而這青春的一角，跟著他的離開而死去了。
措手不及。但這幾天全世界追憶Kobe Bryant的時候，可以想想他曾經說過的、做到的。
冠軍只是他的勳章，不懈努力才是他的本質，也是他超越籃球的影響力。
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「曼巴精神」（The Mamba Mentality）的重點不在於結果，而是追求結果的過程；它的重點在於你的做法，以及你親身經歷的那趟旅程。它就是一種生活的態度：
"The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.”
"I would go 0-30 before I would go 0-9. 0-9 means you beat yourself, you psyched yourself out of the game."
"Bowed their heads and not give up, it is to see his own way; Please not proud, is to see their own sky."
"Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise."
"I am chasing perfection."
"My parents are my backbone. Still are. They're the only group that will support you if you score zero or you score 40."
"I've always said that I wanted to remebered as a player that didn't waste a moment. Didn't waste a Day."
"I can accept failure, but I can't accept giving up.”
Mamba out.
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