5 examples of "Mamba Mentality" which made Kobe Bryant great

3) Injuries Never Stopped Kobe

Kobe Bryant on the floor after tearing his Achilles

In his fourth season in the NBA, a young Kobe Bryant was put on the injured list with a broken wrist. Even though he was the youngest player on the Lakers at this time, he was always the first one at the gym. He would show up hours before practice to get shots up and work on his game.

When teammate John Celestand learned that Kobe was out with an injury, he was excited that he would finally be the first one in the gym for practice. But to his surprise, when he got to the gym, he saw none other than Kobe Bryant. Kobe decided that his injury was not going to stop him from getting better. He used this as an opportunity to improve on using his left hand while dribbling and even shooting with his left hand.