Kobe Bryant continues to inspire Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
On the one-year anniversary of his death, NBA legend Kobe Bryant remains a strong influence in the Kansas City Chiefs’ locker room.
When Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes took the field following the AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills to accept the Lamar Hunt Trophy, he wasn’t interested in doing much celebrating. CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson asked Mahomes about the key to defeating the Bills and his response was in part a tribute to Bryant.
“Yeah, it was just trusting each other,” Mahomes said. “The best thing about this team is that we believe in each other and every single time we hit the field we leave everything we have, but the job’s not finished. We’re going to Tampa and we’re going to try to run it back.”
In the 2009 NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers took a 2-0 lead over the Orlando Magic. Following Game 2, Bryant was famously asked why he hadn’t smiled and if he wasn’t happy about his team’s win. His response was a classic.
“What’s there to be happy about? Job’s not finished,” Bryant said. “Is the job finished? I don’t think so.”
There was no coincidence that Mahomes’ answer partly echoed what Bryant said all those years ago. Bryant and his legacy as a fierce competitor remains a huge influence on Mahomes and his mindset to this day.
“Yeah I mean, Kobe (Bryant) has one of the best mentalities of all time as far as a competitor out there and winning championships, not just winning games,” Mahomes told reporters following the game. “I take a lot from that of going out there every single day and not being satisfied with where you’re at and like I said the job’s not finished. When we went into the season, we weren’t talking about going to the Super Bowl, we were talking about winning again and we’re trying to run it back. I’m excited for the opportunity to go out there and play against a great football team and try to do that.”
Now, going into a Super Bowl matchup against one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game, Mahomes is borrowing a play out of Bryant’s book. He’s focused on the task at hand, defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV. He’s got his sights on the end goal that his team set out to achieve at the start of the 2020 NFL season.
“Our goal from the beginning of the season was to win the Super Bowl, not to get to it,” said Mahomes. “So I’ll be on the film tomorrow.”
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