Kobe’s New Nickname? Vino

The man formerly known as the black mamba shall now be known as Vino. Yep, Kobe’s got a new nickname.

Kobe Bryant has been going by black mamba for a while now (he even has a few commercials that play on his nickname) but the Lakers star is ready for a change.

Bryant, who has been using the hashtag #vino on Twitter with the hopes of getting people to adapt his new nickname, said that he chose vino because he’s playing basketball like a fine wine.

Bryant is getting older (he’s now 34) but he’s still one of the best players in the NBA.

He’s averaging 27.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game this year and has been playing close to 38 minutes per game.

Kobe has seen better numbers during his career (he averaged 31.6 points per game during the 06-07 season) so he isn’t exactly aging like a fine wine. But the point is still the same. Kobe is older, but he’s also wiser, and is still a force on the basketball court.

Last week he dropped 38 points against the Dallas Mavericks.

What do you think of Kobe Bryant’s new nickname?

Omg. My man just gave me a new nickname and I love it! Ha #vino

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) March 1, 2013

Kobe’s new nickname may work at this point in his career but there are a couple of things wrong with the name Vino. First, Nike has been pouring a lot of money into branding Kobe as the black mamba. The name has a dangerous, aggressive edge too it that plays well with sports fans.

They even went as far to make a short film about Kobe “The Black Mamba” Bryant.

Vino doesn’t really have that aggressive feel. It’s basically unusable unless Bryant decides to retire, put on a leisure suit, and sell some sort of Gatorade-inspired wine.

Still, Kobe’s nickname is a lot better than Dwyane Wade’s.

The Miami Heat star recently announced that he would no longer go by the name D-Wade. Instead, Wade is requesting that all Miami Heat fans address him as “WOW.”

Do you think Vino will stick? Is the black mamba dead?