“The Black Mamba is the world’s most deadlist snake. One bite and you are dead. The White Mamba is the world’s most dormant snake. He just chills and watches. Still part of the Mamba family but totally different mindset.”
That’s the always hilarious and quotable Brian Scalabrine explaining the difference between his nickname and the one Kobe Bryant is most known for.
Kobe got his nickname from the movie KILL BILL. He was so obsessed with the Tarantino film that he gave himself Uma Thurman’s nickname, had Nike create a logo similar to the Hattori Hanzo sword logo, and even compared his final NBA game to the ending of KILL BILL 2.
— David Astramskas (@redapples) October 10, 2024
Scalabrine got his nickname from Bulls commentator Stacey King, who came up with the name after Scal had a good game vs the Wizards while wearing a pair of custom Kobe 6 shoes with snakeskin and red shoe laces.
Here’s Scal telling the story, also sharing how he used to tell the coach to put him in at garbage time so he could entertain the fans.
“We up 20, let’s go! These people are going to keep booing you until you put me in. The people want to see me at the end of games. They don’t care about Derrick Rose at the point of the game. This is what it’s about. I would look up at the score. 22! If you don’t know how to do the math.”
Scal’s greatest quote is still the 2013 one about the difference between NBA players and amateurs thinking they could beat him 1-on-1: “I’m closer to LeBron than you are to me.”
He recently showed that during a 2025 battle with George “The Messiah” Papoutsis at the Cage in NYC.
“I’m closer to LeBron than you are to me”
– Brian Scalabrine 💀 pic.twitter.com/2b1tKg5lkh
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) March 15, 2025
After beating the viral streetballer 11-0, the 46-year-old Mamba told the crowd “to get off his nuts.”
If you are wondering why would a retired Scal even play a guy like The Messiah, here’s Kevin Garnett:
“For people who don’t know Scalabrine, other than P, he loves one-on-one. Scal right now, if you called him. He’d get up, put his stuff on, just to play one on one. He want’s smoke at all times and it don’t matter who you are. One day you’d see him go one-on-one with Big Baby, one-on-one with Perk, try going one-on-one with P, and then talk shit to Ray. After the third shot, he like, ‘Okay cool, I’m done.’ He want smoke. We’d play In the summertime and he say I got Ticket.”
Some might also be wondering how the undrafted forward lasted 11 years in the league while only averaging more than five points or 3 rebounds once . Here is what Rasheed Wallace had to say about him:
“If anybody want to talk about the best locker room player. To me in my book and NBA history is Brian Scalabrine. The White Mamba, that’s my guy right there. He had a knock down shot, played defense and wasn’t scared to put his chest out there to play some defense. Never cause problems in the locker room. He won a ring and got paid. He’s just a good guy. He didn’t cause trouble, positive attitude. I tell kids, look you can get paid like that, too.”
You can now catch Scal announcing games for the BIG3, which he also played in and went at guys like former No. 1 pick Greg Oden.