Despite playing a different sport, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs identifies with Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Mentality when he’s on the football field.
Add Stefon Diggs to the list of superstar players in purple who identify with the infamous “Mamba Mentality.”
Speaking to FanSided’s Mark Carman in the build-up to Super Bowl 54 down in Miami, the Minnesota Vikings wide receiver touched on a number of topics while promoting the release of the Genesis GV80, the first-ever SUV from a new stand-alone luxury car company that serves as the official luxury vehicle of the NFL.
Among those topics was his own competitive fire, which was on full display in the Vikings’ recent wild card game against the New Orleans Saints. Midway through the third quarter, after not being targeted all game by quarterback Kirk Cousins, Diggs threw his helmet on the sideline and had to be calmed down by his teammates.
“It’s one of those situations where it’s a double-edged sword because at that point, we were up 13-10,” he said. “It’s not like we was blowing ’em out. You want perfection all the time, and I strive for perfection. I strive to win each and every rep at a high level, and if you’re not wanting the same, I don’t know what you’re chasing.”
That mindset is something Stefon Diggs feels he shares with NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who passed away on Sunday in a tragic helicopter crash.
“When you’re chasing something bigger than money, you’re chasing your legacy, you’re chasing greatness and you’re not gonna let nobody stop you. Basketball is definitely a different kind of sport, but Kobe owned that. That ‘I don’t care if you like me. I’m gonna give you 30, I’m gonna give you 81 points if I have to, just to prove a point.’ I feel like his competitive nature, he breathed that into everybody else. If you didn’t wanna be around it, you didn’t wanna win.”
Luckily for Diggs and his team, the Vikings did win their game against New Orleans in overtime, 26-20. They were handily defeated in the next round by the San Francisco 49ers, but the star wideout quieted any concerns over whether he was happy in Minnesota.
“It wasn’t the fact that I wasn’t happy, at all,” he explained. “I wanted to be utilized, and you kinda saw that early in the year. We threw the ball nine times one game. Of course it’s always good when you win. And I want to win, I always keep that mindset of wanting to win. In the process of any job, even in the job that you’re in, even an accountant, you want to be utilized to the best of your ability.”
Stefon Diggs spoke with FanSided on behalf of Genesis.