The Golden Era paid tribute to Kobe Bryant during the team's first game since the NBA legend died in a helicopter crash.
Once upon a time there was a young basketball player who had dreams of becoming one of the greatest basketball players of all-time.
He had the opportunity to go to the NBA and play against the greatest players in the world. If that doesn't get you going, I don't think anything will.
It's like a dream come true.
I couldn't even dream of this when I was a kid. You know. Just no way possible. It's just, you know, just a blessing from above.
The joy of the game comes from just being out there and just playing. The competitive side of me thinks we can win every game that we play.
What I've learned is to ... always keep going.
If you're a fan of mine, you're a fan of winning. You're fan of the Lakers. That's never going to change.
Man, I gave my soul to this game. There was nothing more I could give.
I wanted to be one of the best basketball players to ever play and anything else that was outside of that lane, I didn't have time for.
It's not about my jerseys that are hanging up there for me. It's about the jerseys that were hanging up there before.
The most important thing you can do is to pay everything that you've learned forward to the next generation to come. And that's truly how you create something that lasts forever.
I'm here to show people that we can do much more than that. Winning an Oscar, winning an Emmy and an Annie, those are things that are showing other athletes that come after, no, no, there's more to this thing.
The discipline, the commitment, the team, the community. How do I take those lessons and move those here? Having that sharp focus is something that I got from the game of basketball.
You have to dance beautifully in the box that you're comfortable dancing in. My box was to be extremely ambitious within the sport of basketball. Your box is different than mine. Everybody has their own. It's your job to try to perfect it and make it as beautiful of a canvas as you can make it. And if you have done that, then you have lived a successful life. You have lived with Mamba Mentality.
God, I love you guys. What can I say? Mamba out.
Thank you @mkapa
(85771) for the nice 'Kobe memorial' banner
Last edited by Warriorground at 05/02/2020 09:47:01