Even years after Kobe Bryant’s tragic helicopter crash in 2020, his presence still echoes in gyms, locker rooms, and minds chasing greatness. Sure, the Lakers have a rich legacy—Magic Johnson, Kareem, even LeBron—but for many, it’s Kobe who sits at the top. He wasn’t born the most gifted player, but his obsession with greatness set him apart. That same obsession gave birth to something deeper: the Mamba Mentality. And that mentality? It’s still shaping futures.

Speaking of shaping futures, Kobe described the Mamba Mentality as pushing oneself daily. “Mamba Mentality is a constant quest to try to be better today than you were yesterday,” he explained during a training camp. So, it’s no surprise that when 16-year-old WNBA prospect Isa Escribano, aka Jiggy, sat down for a chat on LA PLATICA’s YouTube channel, the topic of Kobe naturally popped up.

When asked about her most significant lesson from Kobe, Jiggy responded without hesitation. “There’s two things,” she smiled. “There’s one that it happened the first day I practiced, and he was telling me. Brick by brick. Brick by brick which means like you’re not going to build your house in one day. It’s going to take one brick, another brick day by day.”

That mantra resonated deeply with her. Even when practice got frustrating, Kobe never let her spiral. “He always said that to me, like no matter what, like if I got frustrated at practice and I was so stressed, I couldn’t understand something or like I didn’t get something right away. He was like brick by brick jig,” she said. “And I was like and then another thing he like he as well mentioned to me like these two things I always live by and always tell people like he always told me these things.”

Then came the second gem. One day, while she was shooting around, she asked him how many shots she should take. His response? “Shoot till your arms fall off,” Jiggy revealed. It wasn’t just advice—it became a mindset. A way of life.

How Jiggy Izzy is chasing hoop dreams, honoring Kobe Bryant

At first, it was just about sibling love and a shared hoop dream. When Isabella Escribano—now known as Jiggy—saw her brother Marco’s basketball journey cut short, she wasn’t ready to let that story end. “I saw how hard he worked in basketball, and I wanted to do the same thing,” she said.

That simple moment flipped a switch. Marco started sharing videos of her skills on Instagram and YouTube, and it didn’t take long before basketball fans and insiders started to take notice. By 2018, “Izzy has handles for days” wasn’t just a comment—it was a movement.

Then came the next big turn. NBA assistant coach Phil Handy was one of the first to recognize Escribano’s exceptional talent. “For a young female athlete to be able to move and have the type of basketball maturity that she had at that age, it wasn’t common,” he said. Handy got to work with her in the gym, and soon after, his phone buzzed with a message from none other than Kobe Bryant. “[Kobe] said, ‘I want you to bring her down to a workout.’”

That invite led to something unforgettable. On New Year’s Eve, she got a text that read, “Happy New Year, kiddo.” It was from Kobe himself. He had brought her into the Mamba Sports Academy family, and she couldn’t wait to learn from him.

But Kobe didn’t just teach skills. He taught patience. “Brick by brick, Jig,” he told her whenever frustration hit. She’s been building ever since.