Nick Van Exel says Kobe Bryant’s reputation for relentless work wasn’t born from highlight reels or smooth jumpers. It was forged in the aftermath of failure, and the memory of Bryant’s airballs in the 1997 NBA playoffs still stands out to him as a turning point.
On a recent appearance on “ To The Baha,” the former Lakers guard described how Bryant handled that moment as a teenager and why it stuck with him. Van Exel said Bryant left the floor with his head held high after the two airballs, then went right back to work once the Lakers returned to Los Angeles.
“Man, I just did a Zoom [meeting] Sunday night with some kids, and one of my friends is doing like, the mental stuff and all of that, and he was talking about that. People don’t realize he walked out of there with his head up.
He shot those two airballs; he walked out with his head up. Shaq gave him a hug, and he said, ‘I’m going to remember that.’
It just made him better, and he was right in the gym when we got to LA that night. He started shooting threes.
His mentality was stupid, man. As a kid.
Like, as a kid, 18-19 years old. You don’t see that.”
That response, Van Exel said, helped shape the mindset that would become attached to Bryant’s name for the rest of his career. Instead of shrinking from the moment, Bryant treated it as fuel.
Van Exel also made clear he’s tired of hearing “Mamba Mentality” used loosely by people who don’t live it. He took aim at the way the phrase gets tossed around in coaching circles and after games.
“Oh, I hate that. I hate it.
I see it in coaching, and catch me talking about the ‘Mamba Mentality.’ Bro, you don’t work.
You don’t do nothing. Cut it out.
Then you get in front of the camera at the end of the game, ‘Yeah, I had the Kobe-‘ No, you didn’t, bro. I’ve seen you three days in a row.
You ain’t getting no shots up. Like, stop it.”
For Bryant, the results matched the obsession. He followed that 1997 playoff setback with a strong second season, still coming off the bench but earning an All-Star nod and finishing second in the 6MOTY race. At 19, he averaged 15.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.
The breakthrough kept building from there. In his fourth season, Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal powered the Lakers to their first title of the decade. That championship was only the beginning, as the pair led Los Angeles to three straight titles and established the Lakers’ dynasty in the early 2000s.
By then, Bryant’s work ethic and mentality were already part of the legend. Van Exel’s point was simple: that edge didn’t appear overnight. It was there early, and it was sharpened by the very mistakes that could have broken a lesser player.
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