The days of August 23rd and 24th more or less belong to Kobe Bryant now. The first date is, of course, Kobe’s birthday, but August 24th is known as ‘Mamba Day’ representing the two jersey numbers Kobe wore in his 20-year career.
This year Kobe decided to use ‘Mamba Day’ in order to market his new Nike Kobe A.D. shoes which will be featured in five different colors. He did so by making five different challenges to five people on Twitter. Two, Isaiah Thomas and DeMar DeRozan, are NBA All-Stars while the other three, Allyson Felix, Richard Sherman, and Kendrick Lamar, are each stars in their own fields.
One person who did not get a challenge was Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and that did not sit well with him. In fact, Antetokounmpo tweeted at Kobe, asking for his own challenge:
Still waiting for my challenge.. @kobebryant
— GiannisAntetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) August 24, 2017
Kobe and Antetokounmpo formed a relationship over Kobe’s last couple of years in the NBA. At one point the ‘Greek Freak’ reflected about a post-game conversation with Kobe, noting that the future Hall of Famer told him the importance of getting better during the summer.
Even though he didn’t get an official Mamba Day challenge, Antetokounmpo is showing how much he reveres Kobe and that he is looking to make another leap in the upcoming season. Last season was a breakout year for him, averaging 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists while making his first All-Star Game, All-NBA Second Team, and winning the Most Improved Player award.
Kobe has never been opposed to giving advice to anyone so Antetokounmpo could surely get his own private challenge should he give a call or meet-up with him in person. Kobe has helped out players like Isaiah Thomas recently and doing the same for Antetokounmpo could make him even more dangerous this upcoming season.