Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Mentality has seen him do everything after his retirement from the NBA.
Bryant’s drive for excellence has led him to produce an Oscar-winning short film, write a book, and even multiply a $6M investment to $200M. Heck, he and his wife are even expecting a fourth daughter soon. From film producer, writer, businessman, and father. What else can Kobe Bryant do? Fortune telling, perhaps.
Not Just Basketball
We’ve heard Kobe Bryant make predictions before and it’s not even just in basketball. We know about Kobe growing up in Europe and having a fondness for football (soccer). Remember in 2017 when Kobe predicted that Tottenham Hotspur Harry Kane to be the best in the world? Well, Kane isn’t the best footballer in the world just yet but he may be on his way there.
In May 2018, Kane was named as England’s captain to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In the World Cup, Kane won the Golden Boot as the top goal scorer of the tournament, leading England to a 4th place finish, its highest since 1990. Domestically, Kane also registered his best Premier League season, statistically, in 2017-18 with 41 goals scored in 48 games across all competition.
Predicting The 2018 NBA Champions
But aside from being a football soothsayer, Bryant’s NBA predictions have also been right on the money. In April 2018, Bryant was asked about his picks to win the 2018 NBA title. While he said that he wanted to “stay out of the business of clairvoyance-y, the Black Mamba did give a piece of his mind during that ESPN interview. And while he didn’t pick one team, his analysis of how the 2018 NBA playoffs would unfold was prophetic.
Kobe identified two Western Conference teams who had the strongest chance of winning the NBA title: The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets. He also talked about Kyrie Irving’s injury having an impact in the East and that Cleveland, because of LeBron James, would be dangerous in the East. Bryant added that the winner in the East would not matter because the Dubs or Rockets would win the 2018 NBA Finals. Well, the Warriors and Rockets faced off in the West Finals. Golden State won and went on to sweep Cleveland in the Finals.
LeBron and Lakers
When LeBron James made the move to Los Angeles, Bryant predicted that the Lakers would make the playoffs this year. He also predicted that James will eventually lead the Lakers to an NBA title because they have the determination and the talented pieces to do it. Kobe even said that the Lakers will be “champions before you know it.”
The Lakers were the 4th seed when LeBron was healthy. But after his Christmas Day injury, he missed a total of 18 games and the team has gone 6-12 without him, dropping outside the playoff picture right now. As for the Lakers winning the title before we know it, well we know they are swinging to get Anthony Davis in a trade. Kyrie Irving wants to play with LeBron again and Klay is said to be interested in the Purple and Gold getting AD. So who knows, really?
As for Kobe Bryant’s future in fortune-telling, the jury is still out on that. But when “Mamba Says”, there’s always something to that.