Oregon basketball star Sabrina Ionescu embodies The Mamba Mentality

On the same day she spoke at Kobe Bryant’s celebration for life, Oregon basketball star Sabrina Ionescu made history, showcasing the mamba mentality that would have made Kobe proud.

Sabrina Ionescu will never forget Feb. 24.

In the middle of a pursuit of making history as the first college basketball player with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists, the walking triple-double first boarded a private charter to attend Kobe and Gigi Bryant’s celebration for life at the Staples Center.

Ionescu was one of the speakers to eulogize Kobe along with his widow, Vanessa Bryant, WNBA all-time leading scorer Diana Taurasi, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal. She spoke eloquently of the relationship the two had. It was easy to forget she is only 22-years-old.

She spoke with a command of the room. She was not afraid of the moment. She was not intimidated by the collection of the greatest basketball players on the planet. She was talking about her friends, how much they meant to her and how much she misses them.

She displayed the grace that fans have seen on the court, but this was her finest performance.

"He united us. He made it so that the outsiders who outworked everyone else, who were driven to be just a little bit different every single day. To make those around them, behind them, above them a little bit better every single day and they weren’t the exception, they were the rule.”I wanted to be a part of the generation that changed basketball for Gigi and her teammates. Being born female didn’t mean being born behind. Where greatness wasn’t divided by gender. You have too much to give to stay silent. That’s what he said. That’s what he believed. That’s what he lived. Through Gigi, through me, through his investment in women’s basketball. That was his next great act, a girl dad. Basketball in many ways was just a metaphor.I still text him even though he’s not here. Thank you for everything. The rest is for you. Rest easy my guy. The last one I sent him said, “I miss you” may you rest in peace my dear friend. The texts go through but no response. It still feels like he’s there on the other end. That the next time I pick up my phone he would have hit me back. Sometimes I find myself still waiting. It’s so strange to describe him or Gigi in the past tense. You don’t get used to that. No one tells you that about grief.The week after the accident, I was in Colorado, I had a game, and like I do before every game, I prayed. This time, I was thinking about Kobe and Gigi. His voice is still in my head even if his body is not on this earth. All I wanted was a sign that somehow he still heard me too. I looked off into the sky, and there it was, a beautiful golden sunset. The boldest yellow: Lakers yellow. And further into the distance, a helicopter. There was my sign that you’ll forever be with me.I heard his voice in my head, the last line from one of his books. Walk until the darkness is a memory and you become the sun on the next traveler’s horizon. Today may feel like darkness. In so many ways, a sun: beaming, radiating, fixed in the sky.I ask each of you, every girl dad, every human here with voice, a platform and a heart, to not let his sun set. Shine for us, for our sport where he once did. Invest in us the same passion and drive and respect and love as he did his own daughter. In the end, she was a sun just starting to rise, and god did she glow. May their light forever shine. Kobe and Gigi, I’ll love you forever."

Women’s basketball is in a great place with Ionescu leading the charge. She is likely to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft. Before that happened, she had to honor Kobe and Gigi with the way she played after the emotionally draining celebration of life.

This is what is so special. It would have been understandable if Ionescu didn’t suit up for the Ducks on Monday night. NBA players sat after hearing of the news about Kobe. No one would have faulted her if she needed the night to regain her composure.

Nope. That’s not what Kobe would have wanted.

The Mamba Mentality doesn’t allow for that.

The Mamba Mentality is about pushing, striving, battling, and fighting to do whatever it takes to get the job done, to meet your goal, to obtain the objective. It what made Kobe the relentless player he was on the court and the passionate creative off-the-court.

Sabrina Ionescu embodies the Mamba Mentality.

https://twitter.com/oregonwbb/status/1232143400595378176?s=21

Hours after giving her eulogy, she was in uniform for Oregon’s game against Stanford. There was no chance she would miss the opportunity to display the traits and intangibles that Kobe imparted on her. She did what she does. She showed the world once again why she’s the best women’s college basketball player and one of the best of all time.

She reached the milestone with a rebound late in the third quarter. History was made. The first player in the men’s or women’s game to reach 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists. If that wasn’t impressive enough, she got a triple-double too. Her 26th career triple-double, no one has ever had more than 12 (BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth).

“That one was for him,” Ionescu said after the game. “To do it on 2/24/20 is huge, we talked about it in the preseason. I can’t really put that into words and he’s looking down and really proud of me. I’m just really happy for this moment for my team.”

It’s fitting she would reach the milestone on 2-24.

2+24 = Gigi and Kobe’s numbers.

Can’t write it any better than that.

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