“Mamba mentality is all about focusing on the process and trusting in the hard work when it matters most. It’s the ultimate mantra for the competitive spirit.” Kobe Bryant described his approach best, resulting in his success. The disciplined approach, hard-nosed style of play, and never-give-up attitude all summed up his attitude. Looking back at some of the iconic moments, former teammate Matt Barnes spoke about two such incidents that have a lasting impression on the fans.

“The first moment is hushing the crowd in the Olympics. The Challenger is hitting two free throws on Torn Achilles.” In the king of the style format, the former NBA champion could only choose one option from Kobe Bryant’s career in every round. “Obviously hush in the world is incredible. But for anyone to tear their Achilles and come back and shoot two free throws man, I got to take the Achilles free throws.” So, for the first round, Barnes selected the moment from the 2012-13 season.

The team was making a late charge for the playoffs position and then came the game against the Warriors. First, he would hit back-to-back shots from beyond the arc, but later fell down on a non-contact play. At the time, the Lakers opted for a timeout, and a hobbling Kobe Bryant made it to the Free throw line. He would add two more points as the game once again was equal to 109. The injury was revealed to be a torn Achilles injury, which did not stop the 5x NBA champion from helping his team.

Speaking about helping, the shushing gesture is similar, but this time for the national team. Back in 2008, part of the Redeem team, Kobe Bryant, was eager to get over the previous season’s loss to the Boston Celtics. In the Gold medal game, losing was never an option. With Spain in the final, the game was a cagey affair, right until the fourth quarter. With just 3 minutes and 10 seconds left on the clock, Black Mamba would convert a three-pointer and he hit the shush celebration.

Both these moments resulted in victories for Kobe Bryant and his respective teams. With the USA team, he was able to savor the moment on the court, as they won the Gold Medal. For the Lakers, after the Free throw, he was out, but the team was able to fight back for the 118-116 win. For Matt Barnes, this moment also ranked higher than one other historic moment.

The 2009 final moment was no match for Kobe Bryant’s free throw routine

As mentioned earlier, the 2008 finals loss to the Celtics stung deeply for the Lakers legend. But the next year, the team made it back to the finals. This time, the opposition was the less-experienced Orlando Magic. After securing the gold medal, the 18x All-Star was more locked in than ever during the championship series. During a press conference, he was asked a question that became part of Matt Barnes’ rankings:

“Kobe saying ‘job’s not finished’ after going up 2-0 in the NBA Finals.” The former NBA Champion didn’t change his answer for the second question in a row.

“I like that, but two on a torn Achilles still get the win,” he responded. The question arose because Kobe Bryant seemed unhappy despite being 2-0 up in the series.

“What’s there to be happy about? Job’s not finished. Job finished? No, I don’t think so.” This mentality became emblematic of the Mamba mentality. But for Barnes, seeing his former teammate step up and hit those free throws without any support was a moment that deserved a higher spot on the list.