Forget "Be Like Mike."
If upcoming rookies of the 90s wanted to be like Michael Jordan, arguably NBA's greatest ever and the star of the Gatorade commercial "Be Like Mike", this year's crop of young talents are looking up to a potential basketball Hall of Fame member - Kobe Bryant.
Los Angles Lakers rookie D'Angelo Russell said he wants to imitate Kobe Bryant's mentality a few days ago. That is the same thing Washington Wizards rookie Kelly Oubre wants to do.
"In Vegas, I was rowdy. I was just hyped all the time," Oubre told CSN's Chris Miller. He rues his dismal performance in the summer league and he is targeting to improve some aspects of his game.
"A hundred miles per hour all the time. I kind of noticed that I need to change my speeds and change my poise, learn the game and make sure I'm relaxed at all times. Make sure the moment doesn't get too big for me, or I don't get too hyped."
To do that, he is planning to adapt Mamba mentality, a term used to describes Kobe Bryant's approach to the game.
"I saw Kobe say that. It's just about staying even-keeled," the 19-year old, 6'7 small forward said. "He's a guy that it's worked for him so I'm going to try to take that same mentality."
Just a few days ago, D'Angelo Russell also spoke about his admiration about Kobe Bryant's mental strength when it comes to pressure.
"I always preach, I didn't get here from being the most athletic guy, the fastest guy, the tallest guy, or the strongest, I got here from my mind," the 2nd overall top pick of 2015 told Lakers Nation.
"And, that's also what he respects so much about Kobe Bryant. That's something when I watch Kobe interviews or listen to Kobe talk, he's mentally on another level, when I listen to him, I relate to that."
