Kobe Bryant is nicknamed the “Black Mamba” because of the way he can strike quickly and metaphorically kill you on the court. The black mamba is believed to be the fastest and one of the most poisonous snakes on the planet, so Kobe loves having the nickname. But did you also know that Bryant is more than just a metaphorical poisonous snake?
According to Washington Wizards guard Jordan Crawford, Bryant hisses on the court when he wants the ball.
Crawford appeared on “Dan Le Batard is Highly Questionable” Wednesday and talked about his “oh wow” moments when he joined the NBA. He said playing with Vince Carter and Kobe were those moments. That’s when he shared the great note about Bryant.
“When I first played with Kobe — they call him the Black Mamba — but then he was doing like a little snake sound when he wanted the ball,” Crawford told Le Batard, via DC Sports Bog. “It was crazy. It was crazy. It’s like tsssss, tsssss. Like [he was calling former teammate Derek Fisher] fish, fish, Fisher. Tsssss, tssss. He do that. Everybody tells you he’s gonna do it before you play him — like, ‘Wait till you hear him do this.’ And then he [does] it, and it’s like, what? He’s really a mamba. It sounds like some kind of snake.”
So does that mean the secret is out on Kobe? I really wonder whether he did this first, or only after he received the nickname. Or is it just coincidence that his sound to call for the ball happens to be like a snake’s hiss?
This story is pretty awesome and makes me want to get courtside seats just to see if it’s true. As awesome as Kobe doing a snake’s hiss to call for the ball is, I still think LeSean McCoy’s on-field tendency is better.
UPDATE: Bryant confirmed over Twitter that he calls for the ball using a “mamba hiss”:
“@dontcallmerhino:@kobebryant yo @jcrossover said you hiss when you ball him up.How true is that?”that’s how I call for the ball #mambahiss
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) February 9, 2013
Click here to hear Crawford talk about Kobe
Image via StreetBall
