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Michael Jordan’s Fear of Snakes Indirectly Led to Kobe Bryant Becoming the ‘Black Mamba’

In 2003, Nike built a “Black Mamba” concept for MJ at HQ. After the pitch, Jordan Brand’s president told the team, “MJ doesn’t like snakes,” and the campaign died. Later it was learned that MJ is afraid of snakes. A year later, Bryant watched Kill Bill Vol. 2, learned about Black Mamba, and then claimed it as his alter-ego.