Twitter was abuzz with NBA fans debating which player had the greatest nickname in sports, and unsurprisingly Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant’s names came to the fore.
Jordan was called the Black Jesus — the story of which was narrated by Reggie Miller in ‘The Last Dance’ while Bryant called himself the Black Mamba — an alter ego of his that would wreak havoc on the hardwood.
Earlier, Bleacher Report posted the question on Twitter with a picture of a charged-up Bryant, and that opened the floor for the fans to share their views and debate who had the best nickname.
https://twitter.com/HoodieRae/status/1604110623985516545
Slim reaper https://t.co/neW20NvR6u
— Arnoldxo (@arnoldtesfaye) December 17, 2022
Magic https://t.co/mQ0vt7lqbc pic.twitter.com/SNAx8VHfkR
— Kuroyasha🧶🇬🇭 (@blackyasha0) December 17, 2022
The black Jesus 🖤💀 https://t.co/oQ2vMlFCfb pic.twitter.com/hPhQ3zBxMG
— C.S🥷🏾🇸🇳 ✪ (@Cheikh_Saliou21) December 17, 2022
"Penny" Hardaway 🏀 https://t.co/vi66yjHIV8 pic.twitter.com/xGZ3jHQAX5
— BoGa 🎗 (@MyPiaPot) December 17, 2022
Black Jesus go hard I cannot lie https://t.co/EThQ8apkuj pic.twitter.com/L2CRMIZNbd
— Donte 🦈🎲🏆 (@Kauchethian) December 17, 2022
The Greek Freak! https://t.co/72PDpwnhmW pic.twitter.com/RCVTY51Alq
— PILLOWPANTS🫳🏻🎤 (@SwarlesBarkey) December 17, 2022
https://twitter.com/indianafantum/status/1603942752068272128
Easily “Magic” people don’t even know it’s a nickname lmao https://t.co/MT8c7BX54D
— thatbucksfan 🐐 (@bucksinsix2534) December 17, 2022
Black Mamba cmon bro 🐍 https://t.co/KQhPY5U9rI
— Ariel 🇮🇱 (@arielshetrit) December 17, 2022
Over the years, there have been several stars who have been given head-turning and brow-raising nicknames. On that note, Anthony Davis’ The Brow’s worth adding to the list.
Why Was Kobe Bryant Called The Black Mamba?
Usually, it’s the fans who end up naming their stars, but in the case of Jordan and Bryant, they did give themselves names that are now iconic.
For the late Los Angeles Lakers legend, the name came during a tumultuous period in his life. Roll back to the summer of 2003 when he was arrested in connection with the sexual assault of a 19-year-old hotel employee in Colorado. And since then, his life went into a downward spiral, on and off the basketball court.
In his documentary, ‘Kobe Bryant’s Muse,’ he revealed how he created the Black Mamba to deal with things on the court, and ‘Kobe’ would take care of things off the floor.
“I went from a person who was at the top of his game, and had everything coming, to a year later, having absolutely no idea where life is going or if you are even going to be a part of life as we all know it,” Bryant said (via Insider).
“I had to separate myself,” Kobe explains. “It felt like there were so many things coming at once. It was just becoming very, very confusing. I had to organize things. So I created The Black Mamba.”
And since then, the name has stuck. Not just because it made for quite the story but for his meteoric rise after all that he went through. We wouldn’t be surprised if the Black Mamba ended up as the winner of that debate.
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