“Black Mamba Or Black Jesus,” NBA Fans Debate Which Player’s Nickname Is The Greatest

Usually, it's the fans who end up naming their stars, but in the case of Jordan and Bryant, they did give themselves names.

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Credit: Fadeaway World

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

https://twitter.com/indianafantum/status/1603942752068272128

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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Aaron Abhishek is an NBA columnist for Fadeaway World. He graduated from St. Joseph's College with a Bachelor's in Visual Communication and a Master's in journalism.His passion for the sport began when he saw Michael Jordan take his final shot in the NBA, and he considers himself fortunate to have been a part of the Kobe Bryant era. Now he writes basketball news and analysis while waiting for the Los Angeles Lakers to win their 18th title.When not watching and writing basketball, you can find Aaron suited to play cricket, putting in some hard yards at the gym, trying a new coffee, and supporting Arsenal. Expertise: NBAFavorite Team: Los Angeles LakersPrevious Work: MEAWW, Blue Man Hoop, Sportskeeda
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