In January of 2020, NBA legend Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in California.

From the moment that the horrible news broke, countless people, including current professional athletes, have expressed how much they looked up to Kobe and what he meant (and still means) to them.

One professional athlete who always has Kobe with him is Austin Bryant of the Detroit Lions.

On Wednesday, Bryant explained to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press why he has a tattoo of Kobe on his leg.

From Detroit Free Press:

“That tattoo means a lot to me,” Bryant said Wednesday. “The Mamba mentality, a lot of athletes know about that. Especially during my rehab process, I leaned on Kobe motivational videos and just knowing what type of person he was as a whole to keep pushing every day cause it gets boring going to 6 a.m. rehab for two years straight for the same injury. Just having that on me and just having that mentality really helped me come back stronger than I was before.”

“The Mamba mentality helped me out a lot throughout that process,” Austin Bryant said. “And it stuck with me. Stuck with me each and every day. That’s on my mind every day when I come out here, just trying to get better. Be the best teammate I can be, be the best player that I can and help this organization win for this city.”

To read the rest of what Austin Bryant had to say to Dave Birkett, please click here.