Rookie Kobe Bryant shoots 4 air balls in NBA Playoffs

Rookie Kobe Bryant shot 4 airballs in a NBA playoff elimination game (Lakers vs. Jazz). It became one of the defining moments in Kobe’s NBA career. Mamba Mentality forever. 💪🏾

"One day people will fear you at the end of the game." - Shaq to Kobe

[kobehighlight]

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[RJKT]

When he says "All Day" he means 24 hours, for all those that don't speak Black Mamba.

[Two_Tone_Xylophone]

And now, children and grown men alike shout his name when attempting a difficult shot with anything from a basketball to a wadded up piece of paper across the room....his name will live in coming generations who never got to see him play. He has become a legend.

[LWH]

Don't forget this muthafucka was 18 years old and fresh outta high school. DCOG

[robbblair]

What I loved about Kobe. He put in the work before & after the games. To perfect his craft. While the rest were out blowing their money. He brought himself up from wow to legend status.

[ricardoalmeida]

That mentality is what defined him. Nobody had the same mentality. He lived and breathed playing ball.

[thespacesbetweenstudio]

The guts it took to even attempt those shots as a teenager rookie showed you what kind of man he was

[Mmhs]

And indeed this man became the most feared player throughout the entire game and especially in crunch time.

[iCRPiN]

I love this guy so much.... Rest easy King, you'll be forever missed

[raquelanderson]

I remember getting in so many arguments about Kobe not passing.. I always would say no one else wants to shoot, it's basketball ball not net ball Kobe was the very best to me.

[SuperiorWare]

I remember that AirBall. 1997. That next year Kobe trained hard. Became ambidextrous.

[weswarden]

Kobe needed this to happen to become what he became... wise man once said, "before you succeed, u must fail"
R.I.P. Black Mamba

[stuartjohnson]

As a kings fan back then, those air balls were the most precious moments of Kobe’s career.

[adventurouspeach]

that's what made him great..Work ethic was mad dope..💜💛💜💛💜💛

[ejgalindo]

RIP Kobe and that clip is inspiring as hell.

[killiemucken]

Man was lunatic when it came to getting better that’s what made him so great

[davidtrump]

I was at that game and thought that moment would break him mentally. It would have destroyed a lot of guys. Dude is just built different and proved it over and over. I know for a fact that he’s still getting it done on the other side.

[SideTooth]

One of the greatest things, if not the greatest, about Kobe was his willingness to learn from others and learn from his own mistakes. He was able to look back and see where he made mistakes and corrected them. He picked up new moves and made corrections like it was nothing. He had an obsession to be the best he could be. From the time of entering the NBA to the time of exiting, I don’t think any player had more growth than Kobe Bryant.

[rayrios]

Kobe was my idol growing up. I watched every game.

[tyronesullivan]

As soon as he failed he went to work. He understood he wasn't working hard enough. That was the birth of Momba.