Future NBA Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant has quite a bit of hardware in his trophy case back home, ranging from scoring titles and MVPs to NBA championships. He has also apparently held on to a Fourth Place trophy that the "Little Mambas" were awarded back in 2017.
Late last night, Bryant took to social media to share a photo of that trophy and explained why he encouraged the youngsters to keep on to it, as a reminder of something they never want to "win" again.
"2 years ago, my little Mambas lost a game by 20, 25 and 40. I asked what they planned on doing with the 4th place trophy they had just “won” and they all said “throw it away”. I told them instead to put it somewhere in their room where it would be the first thing they see when they wake up to remind themselves what they will never “win” again. We will win some and lose some but we will continue to do THE WORK. Cry about it or be about it was my message. They chose to be about it #mambamentality"
It appears that the "Mamba Mentality" message got through to the young ladies, as Kobe also posted a photo of their recent 115-27 victory over a team that they had lost to just a year ago.