The Mamba Mentality: How I Play - Knox Mynatt

 

 By Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bernstein

The late great Kobe Bryant. 5 NBA Championships, 2 Finals MVP's, 1 Regular Season MVP and a 20 year playing career. Kobe was the epitome of a great player. Learning from Michael Jordan in his early years in the league, he made himself almost an exact copy of his mentor, but added his own touch to it. He was his own player, not a copy. Over his 20 year career, he developed a lot of tactics against different kinds of players, and in this book he discusses them. Whether it be how to score efficiently against taller players or how to effectively be your own player, this book details it. 

This whole book was amazing. It went into details about how he played, what he was like off the court, and how he affected his teammates. We hear things from former teammate Pau Gasol, who helped him win his last two championships, and Phil Jackson, the man who coached the threepeat team (2000,2001,2002), and everyone has similar things to say. The mamba mentality is real. If you put in the effort, if you put in the work, there will be results. If you sit idly by nothing will ever happen. This book really instills that mindset. Alongside all of the great writing, the photography by Andrew Bernstein is impeccable. Clear photos and analysis of each picture really helps the reader understand what is being talked about, and visualizes what is being discussed. I really recommend this book to anyone, you don't even have to be a basketball fan, just because of some of the values instilled in the writing.