45 pages • 1 hour read
Kobe BryantThe Mamba Mentality: How I Play
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Foreword and IntroductionChapter Summaries & Analyses
Foreword Summary
The foreword to The Mamba Mentality is written by Pau Gasol, who was Bryant’s teammate on the Los Angeles Lakers from 2008-2014. When Gasol was traded to the Lakers, Bryant contacted him immediately, wanting to meet. Although it was after one o’clock in the morning when Gasol checked into the hotel where the rest of the Lakers were staying, Bryant came to Gasol’s room to welcome him to the team and talk strategy and philosophy. This gesture set the tone for their collaborative relationship, and left a profound impression on Gasol, who describes Bryant as the most devoted, insightful, and analytical basketball player Gasol has ever known. Most remarkable to Gasol were the seemingly limitless energy and unwavering focus with which Bryant remained on task and immersed in not only game play, but in the explication of the components of basketball which informed his approach. Gasol was particularly impressed with the amount of time that Bryant allocated to game tape analysis, practice, drills, exercising, and physical therapy; Bryant consistently devoted additional hours above and beyond the time commitments of his teammates. Gasol expresses his gratitude for all that he learned from his friend and mentor over the years that they played together. Gasol dispels the assumption many made in presuming that Bryant was a difficult person to have as a teammate. According to Gasol, developing an understanding of the motivations behind Bryant’s methods was essential to benefitting from his challenging approach to teamwork. Bryant demanded excellence and dedication from those on the court with him, and wanted assurance that his teammates were people he could trust to exert every effort in order to win.
Introduction Summary
The Introduction is written by Phil Jackson, who coached Bryant and the Lakers from 1999-2004 and from 2005-2011. Jackson speaks to the arc of Bryant’s career, reflecting on both the changes and the consistencies he observed in Bryant from the time he met the player at 20-years-old, to the day that Jackson retired from coaching when Bryant was 33. Initially, with his personal goals clearly defined, Bryant was concerned that the Lakers’ existing approach to the game would compromise his ability to challenge the record of the highest scorer in the history of the NBA. Bryant was initially compelled to create opportunities on the court for himself that would put him in a position to score points. However, Jackson describes coaching Bryant to become more collaborative with his teammates without sacrificing opportunities to put points on the board. Jackson describes Bryant’s assumption of the sole leadership role at Shaquille O’Neal’s retirement as the catalyst for a period of growth and maturation for the player. Jackson echoes Gasol’s recollections of Bryant’s dedication. When Jackson would pull into his parking space at the Staples Center around 8:30am, he would see Bryant parked in the neighboring space, taking a nap in his car. Bryant would arrive at 6am to take advantage of the empty court, catching up on a bit of sleep before going back inside to practice again. When Bryant began to integrate more significant amounts of physical therapy, conditioning, and sports medicine treatments into his regimen, Jackson started to worry that his unrelenting physical commitment to his craft was taking a toll on him which would limit the number of his years left in his career. Instead, Bryant went on to play for another decade.
Foreword and Introduction Analysis
Gasol, Bryant’s teammate and dear friend, and Jackson, his deeply admired coach and mentor, provide the Foreword and Introduction to The Mamba Mentality. Like Andrew Bernstein, Gasol and Jackson had a unique perspective on Bryant and his career; all three played important roles in his life and observed him from a vantage point that few others had the privilege of enjoying. Their trifecta of reflections allows the reader to see Bryant through the eyes of his closest colleagues, and to hear about the ways in which their relationships with him informed their high opinions of the player. Gasol never forgot what it meant to him that Bryant stayed up late to meet him, demonstrating how important it was for him as a leader to welcome his new team member and set a positive tone; Phil Jackson never forgot the admiration that he felt when he arrived for his morning meetings to see Bryant taking the first of many naps that would get him through the grueling days he scheduled for himself, above and beyond what was mandated for him by the Lakers organization. Each of these men makes observations that echo Bryant’s own observations shared later in the text. There is a consistency created in their recollections that lends an instant credibility to the first-person narrative that follows; the reader sees that Bryant saw and knew himself similarly to his closest circle.
