Kobe Bryant’s passing in late January of 2020 shook the world. Not only did we lose a legend like no other on the court, we also lost a mentor, a leader, and a true inspiration to millions of athletes in every sport.

Kobe said the work he was most proud of was passing on his Mamba Mentality, a mindset of trying to be a little better each and every day, to young athletes, particularly girls just like his daughter, Gianna.

Our challenge was to continue his work by inspiring and encouraging Gen Z to become the best versions of themselves through sport.

We introduced Mamba Week: A 5-day program that unpacked Kobe’s mentality. Each day represented one of Mamba’s values: Passion, Focus, Honesty, Fearless, Optimism.

Athletes could then apply these values to their own lives through mentorship conversations between famous athletes, like Anthony Davis chatting with Naomi Osaka, or Devin Booker and Sabrina Ionescu. They spoke candidly about the lessons Kobe taught them while passing along an authentic view about the power of getting the most out of yourself.

As a part of Mamba Week, we hosted a series of daily Nike Training Club workouts and 8.24 mile runs (in honor of Kobe’s number) designed to push the audience’s boundaries the Mamba way. From personal lessons Kobe passed down, to actionable ways to participate, it all laddered up to the goal of inspiring the next generation of athletes to be better today than they were yesterday.

Nike wanted to pass along the values and share the legacy that made Kobe Bryant a legend, both on and off the court. Much of Gen Z hadn’t seen him play in his prime and didn’t understand the impact he’d made on the current generation of star athletes.

We knew that Gen Z has the strongest connection to athletes that they see as their peers. So in order to continue the legacy of one of Nike’s greatest athletes, we highlighted his love of mentorship. It created a natural passing down of information between Kobe’s peers, the rising stars across sports, and our Gen Z audience. We showed conversations between elite athletes and their unique experiences with Kobe. Furthermore, Kobe believed you had to train the mind as much as the body. Training and running challenges pushed athletes to make the small improvements that make them better.

Mamba Week began on Kobe’s first birthday after his passing. The world had experienced grief and was living through ongoing trauma. We needed more of Kobe in our lives.

We paired up elite athletes and rising stars. Friends of Kobe’s and strangers. In candid conversations, they spoke about the profound effect the man had on their lives, how they were practicing what he preached, and shared how they were striving to be better every day. Those conversations became the basis for an ecosystem of content and activity. Social stories came to life on @NikeBasketball driving followers to the Mamba Mentality Hub. Every day that week, the hub updated with new stories, video content, and ways to get active. Tying back to Gen Z posting, sharing, and engaging with @NikeBasketball about how they were working to be a little better today than they were yesterday. Just like Kobe taught them.

620% increased traffic on Nike.com and Nike app

1.5 million Mamba Mentality Badges earned with Nike Running Club (after 7 days)

10.6M Mamba Mentality Hub page views

161K new members with basketball affinity