NBA: Kobe Bryant in 81 words

Ryan Grosman
2 min readJan 27, 2020

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Photo by Getty Images

By @RyanGrosman
Laced
January 27, 2020

As a long time Spurs and Raptors fan, I’ve been on the wrong side of Kobe Bryant’s wrath on many occasions.

His dominance and mamba mentality has ripped my heart out more times than I can count — most notably the times he’s dashed the Spurs’ championship hopes and his 81-point onslaught vs. the Raptors.

Because of his constant thorn-in-my-side presence and sheer brashness, I’ve never liked him as a player. In fact, I downright hated him — perhaps more than anyone. But there were few players that I’ve respected more. In all of sports.

A fierce a competitor as you’ll ever find and equally as clutch, he never once took a possession off. Was he perfect? No. But he was Kobe. The one and only.

In honour of his 81-point game, here are 81 words that best describe Kobe Bryant:

1. Athlete

2. Hooper

3. Scorer

4. Shot-taker

5. Fade-away

6. Slasher

7. Ball-handler

8. Crossover

9. Iso

10. High-flyer

11. Dunker

12. Rim-rocker

13. Posterizer

14. Smooth

15. Teammate

16. Friend

17. Enemy

18. Rival

19. Forward

20. Guard

21. Guardian

22. Father

23. Husband

24. Son

25. Mentor

26. Ruthless

27. Antagonist

28. Work-ethic

29. Prepared

30. Sweat

31. Drive

32. Fire

33. Competitor

34. Dominant

35. Determined

36. Tenacious

37. Relentless

38. Resilient

39. Passionate

40. Instinctual

41. Strong

42. Extraordinary

43. Flawed

44. Greatness

45. Clutch

46. Dagger

47. Killer

48. Nightmare

49. Foil

50. Soul-crusher

51. Mamba

52. Dreamer

53. Author

54. Producer

55. Creator

56. Artist

57. Leader

58. Risk-taker

59. Attention-seeker

60. Arrogant

61. Bean

62. Blunt

63. Selfish

64. Generous

65. Philadelphia

66. Italy

67. L.A.

68. Laker

69. Purple

70. Gold

71. Heart

72. Hustle

73. Awe-inspiring

74. Inspirational

75. All-Star

76. All-NBA

77. MVP

78. Legend

79. Winner

80. Champion

81. Forever

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Ryan Grosman

Welcome to Laced — sports with a little something extra. Follow me on Twitter @RyanGrosman