Sports Academy has found “The Mamba Mentality.” The 96,000-square-foot training facility in Thousand Oaks announced a partnership with Kobe Bryant.
The 96,000-square-foot holistic athletic training facility in Thousand Oaks announced a partnership with former Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant on Monday morning.
The deal includes rebranding the 2-year-old facility MAMBA Sports Academy and a new logo.
The deal was announced Monday with a minute-long video in which Bryant described Sports Academy as a place "where we evolve and have fun."
"This is where we become better members of our team, our family and our community," Bryant said, "and ultimately, the best version of ourselves."
With the Conejo Valley Unified School District closed last month due to the Hill and Woolsey fires, Sports Academy opened its doors to the community, providing a "safe haven" for displaced children.
Opened in 2016 by Chad Faulkner, Sports Academy has everything from basketball and volleyball courts to a sports medicine practice to an Esports training ground and yoga studio on its six-center facility off of Ventu Park Road.
Everyone from local children on a break from school to Los Angeles Rams players like Todd Gurley have used the facility in its short history.
Before he was a Los Angeles Laker, Lebron James joined Kevin Durant and Paul George to watch a youth basketball event at Sports Academy last year.
Bryant, who lives in the Orange County, was also introduced to the facility through youth basketball.
Bryant published a coffee table book, “Mamba Mentality: How I Play,” earlier this fall.
The five-time NBA champion retired in 2016 as the NBA’s third all-time leading scorer. The Lakers retired his Nos. 8 and 24 last year.
Bryant won an Academy Award earlier this year for his “Kobe Bryant’s Muse” documentary film. He also has other projects on the new ESPN+ platform.