“This season is all I have left to give. My heart can take the pounding, my mind can handle the grind,
but my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.” – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant is a household name across the globe, is a sure bet to be a first-ballot hall of famer, and is viewed by those who
know him best as one of (if not the) mentally toughest basketball players on earth.

Basketball has been a part of Bryant’s life from the beginning, and the development of his mental game in basketball has been essential to pushing himself to be his best, and emerging among his peers as a pillar of success.

Kobe recognizes that the mental game of basketball has been integral to his amazing career.

Kobe, whose father also played in the National Basketball Association, has not always enjoyed the wins of which he has had many on the Los Angeles Lakers. As a freshman starter for his high school basketball team in Ardmore, Bryant finished the season with an abysmal 4-20 record. But rather than running from the game, the mentally tough Bryant stepped his game up, and led his team to a 77-13 record over the following 3 years.

He recognized that “everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise”.
After having already won 3 NBA championships, and being recognized as one of basketball greats, Kobe continued to develop his mental basketball game.

His commitment to the mental game in basketball was translated into a pivotal moment in 2006, when he changed jersey numbers from 8 to 24. He recognized the new role that he would need to take in the absence of Shaquille O’Neal, and the evolution that his game required to be the best.

Again proving how mental toughness has been essential to his game, Kobe followed his number change with two further NBA Championship seasons.

This year, Kobe Bryant announced his intentions to retire at the end of the 2015-16 season, after being plagued by injuries in the previous two. Kobe Bryant is so mentally tough, and he realizes this, that his mental basketball game has outlasted his physical abilities.

It is not for lack of desire or passion that we see this great player’s career come to an end.

Basketball greatness is nearly impossible to achieve without a concerted effort and. Mental preparation and training, as seen through the career of Kobe Bryant, are critical in developing one’s own mental toughness and heightening one’s mental game in basketball.

Kobe Bryant understands this, and it is a tremendous factor in why his name will be spoken long after he has left the court for good.

Download the free mental game assessment and get started on Improving your Mental Game in Basketball