#BBB NEWS| Kobe Bryant Is Reportedly Trademarking His Nickname ‘Black Mamba’

Kobe Bryant’s legacy will now live on through his very popular nickname, Black Mamba. The retired Los Angeles Laker basketball star is set to trademark the name through his company Kobe Inc., reports ESPN.

The company filed the trademark on May 2, according to a record from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Bryant made this decision in efforts to use the nickname on different types of merchandise, including sneakers and athletic apparel.

Initially, Bryant named himself in honor of the venomous snake from Africa with the same name from the main character in the movie Kill Bill. “I read up on the animal and said, ‘Wow, this is pretty awesome,'” Bryant told The New Yorker back in 2014. “This is the perfect description of how I would want my game to be.”

Reportedly, there are 13 other registered trademarks for “Black Mamba” including boxer Roger Mayweather (who is Floyd Mayweather’s uncle)

“Black Mamba” is the 11th trademark request for Kobe Inc. The company has also trademarked phrases like, “Friends Hang Sometimes, Banners Hang Forever,” “Hero Villian,” “Create Forever,” and “Dream Epic.”

Bryant defines the meaning of the name as he told to Ahmad Rashad, “What I am when I step on that court, I become that, I am that killer snake.”