Kobe Bryant had a stroke of genius Friday morning after being knighted with a new nickname, “vino,” which will replace his long-tenured and patented reputation as the “black mamba.”
Unlike many, I think “vino” suits Kobe well. After all, like vino, Bryant originates from Italy and has only gotten better with age.
It’s original, sophisticated and high-end, just like his game.
But also like his game, Bryant wasn’t satisfied with leaving it at that. He had to take it to a whole other level.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWfJu-Sd8Zo]
Let’s step into the mind of Kobe and make sense of this.
Part of Einstein’s theory states that space and time are relative. Kobe’s space (career) in the NBA is all relative to the time that his body will allow him to play. 17 years in, like many other players in the league, one would assume his body would begin to betray him.
But that’s clearly not the case. Bryant is having an outstanding season in terms of statistics and efficiency — 27.2 points, 5.6 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game, good for a PER of 23.18 — that ranks among the best of his career.
SMH
First, Kobe never said he was replacing “Black Mamba” with “vino”.
Second, he does not “originate” from Italy. He’s an American-born son of an NBA player who moved to Italy to play basketball. They moved when Kobe was 6 years old.
Third,
Love the new nickname so much more than the Mamba. It sounds better and meaning is cooler.
Re: Kobe aging. If Pierce, Allen (and others that are in the same age bracket–which is why I left Kidd out–he’s older than all of them) had kept himself in shape to the point Kobe does, they could’ve lasted longer I think. Look at Nash. While he’s lost a step, he’s in better shape than Kidd by far. Kareem played till he was 40 at a high level while Gasol’s numbers are slipping at 32 due to poor conditioning.