NBA 2K24 Celebrates LA Lakers Legend Kobe Bryant With the Mamba Moments

In NBA 2K11, developer Visual Concepts introduced something called “The Jordan Challenge.” The mode put players directly into the shoes of Michael Jordan, asking them to complete 10 different challenges that His Airness faced throughout his career. VC brought it back in NBA 2K23, but with NBA 2K24, the team is expanding the mode with a brand-new player. This time, fans will instead jump into Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and try to replicate seven different challenges from the Black Mamba’s career. 

At first glance, you might get annoyed that Visual Concepts is only doing seven challenges after giving Jordan 10, but there’s a good reason behind the change. The team said that it is digging even deeper into each moment, giving Kobe custom animations and providing players with important contextual information through commentary and graphics. We don’t know exactly all of the games that Mamba Moments will include, but 2K did provide fans with a sneak peek at five of the games.

Fans will start things out with Kobe’s record-breaking performance in 2003 when he hit 12 threes against the Seattle Supersonics. You’ll also be tasked with dropping 48 points and 16 boards on the Sacramento Kings in the Playoffs to send the Lakers’ rivals packing. And, of course, you’ll need to score 62 in three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks in 2005 and 65 against the Portland Trailblazers in 2007. The last game Visual Concepts told us about is Game 7 in the 2010 NBA Finals where the Mamba’s clutch performance spurred the Lakers over the Boston Celtics to win yet another championship. There are still two more challenges to be revealed, but it is interesting that the team doesn’t seem to have anything prior to 2001, even though Kobe was already a household name and NBA Champion by that point.

That said, Mamba Moments is sure to be a fan favorite. Visual Concepts always knock these history-based modes out of the water. The Jordan Challenge was a revelation when it launched. Plus, the team can always walk across the hall and talk to the WWE 2K offices. That crew consistently churns out excellent Showcase modes, even if the rest of the game sometimes leaves things to be desired. 

NBA 2K24 launches on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC platforms on September 8.