Kobe Bryant’s video “Musecage” aired on ESPN on Sunday, and it’s one of the craziest things I’ve watched on an NBA broadcast. That includes watching Kobe’s own alley-oop to Shaquille O’Neal in Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals.
Someone on Twitter called it a “drug-fueled Muppet nightmare” but that’s selling short how remarkable the video was. In it, Kobe delivered a message about finding motivation as a young basketball player alongside a talking “Lil’ Mamba” puppet.
But here’s where it gets good: this video was made true to Kobe’s own person. Despite the happy, glockenspiel-laden background music with puppet accompaniment, Kobe’s message in “Musecage” was to use the dark part of your psyche as motivation to conquer your enemies.
I’m dead serious.
It doesn’t get any more Kobe than that.
The first video ends with Kobe’s advice to Lil’ Mamba, who goes off to become strong by using the dark musings as his fuel. Meanwhile, the second video talks about -- and I’m not kidding -- tactics James Harden and Russell Westbrook use to defeat their opponents in the pick-and-roll.
It’s like if Sesame Street was also a film room session.
Needless to say, all 10 minutes of Musecage are incredible. I don’t mean that in any sarcastic way, either. Bryant has been working on his Canvas series for a while, and his message shines true to the person we’ve known for the last two decades.
Use your happy feelings to push yourself? No! Use self-doubt as a motivator to Jawface your way through to six championship rings.
He debuted the original episode on Christmas Day, and it too had a kid-friendly feel.
I literally cannot wait for the next edition in this series.