As a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James revealed on his latest Instagram post that he got a new tattoo.
The tattoo, a Black Mamba snake coiling around the numbers 8 and 24 are an obvious tribute to Bryant who was famously nicknamed “The Black Mamba” and wore 8 and 24 at different times throughout his career.
Below the snake, ‘Mamba 4 life' is written in cursive while adding a rose behind the black mamba. The new ink will add to the multiple that James already has on his body.
Bryant, of course, tragically passed away this past weekend in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. The crash also took the lives of Bryant's 13-year-old daughter Gianna as well as seven other passengers. The helicopter was on its way to a travel basketball game prior to the accident.
James and Bryant have a noted friendship that spanned many years. On the court, the two battled as superstars in the late 2000s. Although we never got a Kobe vs. LeBron finals matchup, the two were fierce competitors — especially against each other.
The duo also competed as teammates during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2012 games in London. After the U.S. men's team disappointed in the 2004 Athens games, James and Bryant helped the United States capture back to back Olympic gold medals.
Bryant spent his entire 20-year career with the Lakers. James, on the other hand, is in the midst of his second season in Los Angeles after previous stops in Cleveland and Miami.
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