CJ Stroud stepped into the gridiron channeling the Black Mamba today. The Houston Texans quarterback sported Kobe Bryant on his t-shirt ahead of the game with the Tennessee Titans. The Mamba Mentality worked as Houston triumphed 26-3. It meant a lot sentimentally for Stroud who bounced back from a concussion episode.

Stroud explained the Kobe tee was purposeful after the game. “Kobe is my favorite player of all time in basketball. Honestly, I don’t think I had any crazy idea about wearing it. I see it… just like a mindset type of switch on me.” 

He referred to Bryant’s famous quote, “The job is not finished,” when the Lakers were 2-0 over the Celtics in the 2009 finals. “We’ve had a great season. It’s been a complete turnaround from last year,” Stroud said referring to Houston’s 9-7 season so far. “But in my opinion, job’s not finished.”

Stroud’s admiration for Bryant isn’t new. A multi-sport athlete since he was young, Stroud played basketball in Rancho Cucamonga High School before committing to football in college and ending up in the NFL.  He was great at the sport as well, though, fell just short of winning the state championship with his high school team.

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“I feel like I kinda went with this shirt, it kind spoke to me this morning. But yeah, it wasn’t really anything but I got a negative out of it, so…” If this is how Stroud works channeling the Black Mamba, fans would probably want the QB to consider getting a wardrobe of only Kobe t-shirts.

CJ Stroud’s Kobe Bryant-shaped aspirations

Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers had a teenage CJ’s admiration growing up. He’s a fan of LeBron James too but Bryant was a special inspiration to him. The Houston Texans gave him a chance to relive his youth on the court against the LeBron & Co back in November.

In the pre-game warmups at the Toyota Center, Stroud, now rusty in his hoops skills, missed his free throw attempt. His heroes in purple and gold, especially James still kept his spirits up. Stroud even gushed that he got a personal pep talk from King James.

The Houston star is also leading the basketball debates in the football locker room. He never got to live out his Bryant-inspired dreams in basketball, but his inspiration continues to help him in football.

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