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The Mythology of Kobe Bryant
Theology and the Culture of Sport
Foreword by Lewis Brogdon
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
Adams defines the mythology of Kobe Bryant as the ways and means in which Kobe's inspirational greatness transcended the culture of sport and the ever-changing context of human existence as we know it. Here the mythological greatness of Kobe Bryant, in life and death, leaves creative space for a knowledgeable interpretation of what made Kobe, to borrow the word of LeBron James, immortal. Whether it was founded in the unfathomable amount of work that Kobe put into improving his basketball game from one year to the next or the creation of the Mamba Mentality that enabled him to teach others how to grow into the best version of themselves, the symbiotic totality of Kobe's ability to be great while inspiring others is worth celebrating. Utilizing biblical studies and theological reflections, this new volume presents Kobe Bryant as an imperfect human being. Through statistical facts, descriptive narratives, and historical analyses, this book also presents a detailed argument as to why Bryant is the greatest basketball player ever. Kobe's Mamba Mentality gives a thick description of his inner drive and his outer thoughts for the purpose of unpacking the contours of Kobe's life as a family man, businessman, leader, and professional athlete.
Darvin Anton Adams is an adjunct professor of theology and biblical languages at Simmons College of Kentucky in Louisville, and pastors the Lane Tabernacle CME Church in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. He also serves as Scholar In-Residence for the Second Episcopal District under Bishop Marvin Frank Thomas Sr. Adams completed his PhD in theology and ethics at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. An eight-time award-winning preacher, Adams is the author of Inner-City Blues: Black Theology and Black Poverty in the United States (2022).
“As a basketball guru, I find Dr. Adams’s descriptive accounts of the late Kobe Bryant and what faith in God looks like in the relevant spheres of culture and sports to be an absolute masterpiece. Easily the best Kobe Bryant book ever written, . . . with great attention given to well-thought-out detail in the realms of Black culture, Scripture, theology, and history. Accurate, creative, and imaginative.”
—Derrick Hickman, head girls’ basketball coach, University Heights Academy
“This book is unlike any other Kobe Bryant book on the market. The way Dr. Adams theologizes the life of Bryant within the culture of sports is fascinating, to say the very least. Most impressively, he defines the mythology of Kobe Bryant in a variety of ways—ways that speak to people from all walks of life. It’s one thing to say that Kobe is the greatest basketball player ever. It’s another thing altogether to argue cogently in the sphere of factuality.”
—Jeremy Franklin, founder, Life to Life Transitions, Lexington, South Carolina
“As an ex-basketball player, I am drawn to Dr. Adams’s attention to detail with regard to the basketball sketch of the late Kobe Bryant and the culture of sports. As an ordained minister, I am very much inspired by his usage of Scripture as a way of talking about what it means to be the greatest at anything in life. As an administrator in the Christian County public school system, I understand the need for knowledge and truth. This new book is a basketball gem and a literary masterpiece.”
—Mancell Elam, district diversity administrator, Christian County Public Schools
“I truly hope that Kobe’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, and their beautiful children read this important book at some point in their meaningful lives. This book promises to be a tremendous blessing to them. The residents of Los Angeles, the states of California and Pennsylvania, along with Kobe Bryant fans in the United States and all over the world will fall in love with this book.”
—Elizabeth Sanders Towns, content editor, EBeth Editorials
“This new book showcases Dr. Adams’s unique ability to argue across cultures, disciplines, and genres. Dr. Adams has always been a historian of basketball. His argument that Kobe Bryant is the greatest basketball player ever is convincing and powerful. Most notably, his nontraditional use of the Bible, academic books, and online articles makes for an exciting engagement with what it means to live out our own lives to the fullest potential. An exciting, informative, and motivational read.”
—Henry Snorton III, director, the Minority Economic Development Initiative
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