NBA

Kobe Bryant Hisses On The Court Like An Actual Black Mamba. Like, For Real.

Kobe Bryant is known as the Black Mamba. Sure, it’s only a nickname, but it’s meant to describe his ability to strike quickly and without warning. Apparently, it’s also meant to describe Kobe’s tendency to hiss on the court like an actual snake. Seriously.

At least Washington Wizards guard Jordan Crawford revealed as much on “Dan Le Batard Is Highly Questionable” on ESPN Radio this week.

“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. It was crazy. It was crazy. It’s like tsssss, tsssss. Like fishing. 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.”

In case you have your doubts, Kobe confirmed the story on Twitter:

“@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

Personally, I’m a fan of Kobe’s, but I can’t back this. Not only is hissing like an actual black mamba the nerdiest thing I’ve ever heard a professional athlete do on the court, but imagine how annoying that must be if you’re his teammate? Especially considering how often Kobe calls for the ball. No wonder the Lakers are struggling this year. They probably can’t even hear Steve Nash/Mike D’Antoni call the plays with Kobe’s incessant hissing. Chill on that, dawg. Why don’t you slither back on defense for a minute?

[NBA Offseason]