Paige Bueckers, the talented UConn guard, has long looked up to Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, both of whom inspired her journey in basketball. She once had a planned workout with Kobe and Gianna, an opportunity that never came to be due to their tragic passing in early 2020.

In a “Day in the Life” video with Ballislife, she revealed her admiration for Kobe‘s mentality and shared how she honors his legacy, displaying her custom sneakers designed in their memory.

“I had my customs on off, and it was just sick. Rockin’ the UConn. Gang, gang,” she said.

“That’s Long Live Gigi, number two, and then Long Live Kobe Bryant, and then the other people that were affected by the crash I put on the inside.

“I was going to work out with them this summer, and I knew they really liked UConn, so I was hoping to build a relationship with them.”

Influenced by The Mamba Mentality

Since then, Bueckers has had her own challenging path. A series of significant injuries, including a tibial plateau fracture and an ACL tear, sidelined her for much of her sophomore and junior seasons.

During her recovery, she often turned to Kobe‘s The Mamba Mentality, a book that helped her find motivation and view obstacles as steps toward growth rather than setbacks.

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The resilience and determination that Kobe embodied became a guiding force for her during the toughest moments of her rehab journey.

“When this injury first happened, I thought a lot about Kobe,” she told ESPN. “I read The Mamba Mentality book and how he looked at his injury as another way to prove people wrong.”