Kobe Bryant’s Nike Spread Inspires Fan-Made Video Montage to Black Mamba

If you thought Nike would abandon or in any way distance itself from Kobe Bryant after the Los Angeles Lakers superstar ruptured his Achilles, you were wrong.

The sneaker-maker put together an inspiring newspaper ad asking the superstar to "Show Us Again" that the improbable is possible. Now, a passionate Mamba fan has made the ad into a video that will surely bring goosebumps to No. 24's supporters.

The new fan video zeros in on a number of things that Bryant has showed us over the last 17 years. From the day he was drafted to the night he went down against the Golden State Warriors, the video pays tribute to all that Bryant has done—right down to his Mamba face.

What was put together here really is incredible, and it's worth watching. It would be so easy to stray away from supporting a 34-year-old Bryant that has a long and arduous road back to the court ahead of him. For most athletes, that would perhaps be the only option. Mortality doesn't sell.

But Bryant isn't most athletes.

Many expected him to fall off at some point during the 2012-13 campaign, so what did he do? He went out and had one of the best seasons of his career.

Bryant is no stranger to adversity, and perseverance isn't just a mindset for the shooting guard—it's a state of existence.

Did anyone think Bryant would go on to be one of the best players the NBA has ever seen when he was drafted out of high school? Did anyone ever think he would score 81 points in a single game? Did anyone ever think he would win five championships?

Bryant has showed us so much, most of which was unexpected. The surplus of championships, the game-winning shots and his will to win, among other things, are and will remain unprecedented. 

Other athletes have the rings and the statistical greatness that put them in the company of Bryant, but few, if any, are or were as relentless as the Black Mamba.

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