Kobe Bryant is a retired American professional Basketball player and entrepreneur;
Bryant played in the NBA, with the Los Angeles Lakers for all 20 seasons of his career, officially retiring this year. He retired as one of the greatest NBA players of his time.
Bryant is an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, and 12-time member of the All-Defensive team. He also holds the NBA record for the most seasons playing with one franchise for an entire career.
Here’s a collection of the best Kobe Bryant quotes on being a winner:
26 Kobe Bryant Quotes
1. “Better learn not to talk to me. You shake the tree, a leopard’s gonna fall out.” – Kobe Bryant
2. “I focus on one thing and one thing only – that’s trying to win as many championships as I can.” – Kobe Bryant
3. “I close my eyes and just reminisce. That’s what keeps me sane.” – Kobe Bryant
4. “Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.” – Kobe Bryant
5. “I feel like killing everybody every time I go to the arena.” – Kobe Bryant
6. “I can’t relate to lazy people. We don’t speak the same language. I don’t understand you. I don’t want to understand.” – Kobe Bryant
7th of 33 Kobe Bryant Quotes
“If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail.” – Kobe Bryant
8. “I was like a wild horse that had the potential to become Secretariat, but who was just too f***ing wild. So part of that was [Phil Jackson] trying to tame me.” – Kobe Bryant
9. “I just got one more than Shaq. You can take that to the bank … You guys know how I am. I don’t forget anything.” – Kobe Bryant
10. “I don’t want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant.” – Kobe Bryant
11. “These young guys are playing checkers. I’m out there playing chess.” – Kobe Bryant
12. “My parents are my backbone. Still, are. They’re the only group that will support you if you score zero or you score 40.” – Kobe Bryant
13. “I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.” – Kobe Bryant
14. “There’s been a lot of talk of me being a one-man show but that’s simply not the case. We win games when I score 40 points and we’ve won when I score 10.” – Kobe Bryant
15. “The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great at whatever they want to do.” – Kobe Bryant
16th of 33 Kobe Bryant Quotes
“One thing you gotta know about me is I have absolutely no filter. I have no problem saying what the hell I think of someone.” – Kobe Bryant
17. “Losing is losing, there aren’t different degrees of losing. You either win a championship or you’re s**t. It’s very black & white to me.” – Kobe Bryant
18. “The Black Mamba collection of watches is me: It is my alter ego, so to speak. As I mentioned before, it is sharp, cutting edge and sleek which are characteristics I try to apply when I’m out there on the basketball court.” – Kobe Bryant
19. “We’re happy – until next January when people start talking about trading one of us.” – Kobe Bryant
20. “I’m reflective only in the sense that I learn to move forward. I reflect with a purpose.” – Kobe Bryant
21. “It’s hard for me to grasp the concept of somebody being nervous when I’m talking to them.” – Kobe Bryant
22. “People just don’t understand how obsessed I am with winning.” – Kobe Bryant
23. “Winning takes precedence over all. There’s no gray area. No almosts.” – Kobe Bryant
24th of 33 Kobe Bryant Quotes
24. “Everyone looks at your watch and it represents who you are, your values and your personal style.” – Kobe Bryant
25. “If I wanted to play, I’d still be playing for the Lakers. The health thing I could’ve figured out…I just don’t want to play anymore.” – Kobe Bryant
26. “Friends can come and go, but banners hang forever.” – Kobe Bryant
27. “As I sit here now when I take off my shoe and I look down at my scar, I see the beauty in it. I see all the hard work, all the sacrifices. I see the journey that it took to get back to this point of being healthy. And I see the beauty in that struggle. That’s what makes it beautiful.” – Kobe Bryant
28. “There are certain players that I’ve made cry. If I can make you cry by being sarcastic, then I really don’t want to play with you in the playoffs.” – Kobe Bryant
29. “I’m chasing perfection.” – Kobe Bryant
30. “I’m extremely willful to win, and I respond to challenges. Scoring titles and stuff like that… it sounds, well, I don’t care how it sounds – to me, scoring comes easy. It’s not a challenge for me to win the scoring title, because I know I can.” – Kobe Bryant
31. “I have self-doubt, I have insecurity, I have fear of failure, I have nights when I show up at the arena and I’m like, ‘My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don’t have it, I just want to chill.’ We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.” – Kobe Bryant
32. “If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail.” – Kobe Bryant
33. “The people who truly know me know what I’m like. There have been people who try to say things that aren’t fair, and I check them. And then they don’t like me because I checked them.” – Kobe Bryant
