A Los Angeles Lakers superfan has lost 170lb since Kobe Bryant’s final NBA game in April 2016.
Chris Huerta showed off his weight-loss transformation on Twitter the same day that Bryant’s No 8 and No 24 jerseys were retired during halftime at the Lakers’ game against the Golden State Warriors at the Staples Center on Monday.
Huerta, from Glendora, California, credited Bryant’s ‘Mamba Mentality’ as part of his motivation to lose the weight.
‘Down 170 lbs since @kobebryant’s last game. Took it one day at time with that #MambaMentality,’ he tweeted with before and after photos in Bryant’s No 24 jersey.
Los Angeles Lakers superfan Chris Huerta (left at the start of his weightloss journey and right in a recent photo) says he has 170lb since Kobe Bryant’s final NBA game in April 2016. Huerta showed off his weight-loss transformation on Twitter the same day that Bryant’s No 8 and No 24 jerseys were retired by the Lakers
Huerta, from Glendora, California, credited Bryant’s ‘Mamba Mentality’ as part of his motivation to lose the weight. Pictured above, Bryant speaks during a halftime ceremony retiring both of his jerseys on Monday
Huerta, who’s in his mid-20s, said he cut out dairy, sugar and most carbs to lose the weight.
‘Started slow with exercising but kept it up everyday,’ he wrote on Twitter. ‘Most importantly you have to believe you can do it and just be patient.’
It has been 17 months since Bryant’s final game with the Lakers, meaning Huerta lost an average of ten pounds a month.
And he’s not done yet – Huerta previously said he has a goal of losing 180lb in total.
‘I’ve never been committed to anything,’ he said in early December. ‘I always quit because I always told myself ‘I can’t do this.’
‘So,here we are 80 weeks later. Looking forward to the new year to set some new goals. ‘Ive lost 170 pounds thus far, I’m really going to try to make that 180 mark.’
Lakers owner and team president Jeanie Buss saw Huerta’s tweet and congratulated him for his hard work.
‘Chris! You are an inspiration just as Kobe was an inspiration to you,’ she said on Twitter. ‘You gave me chills! Thanks for sharing your journey. #Mamba.’
Huerta, who’s in his mid-20s, said he cut out dairy, sugar and most carbs to lose the huge amout of weight
It has been 17 months since Bryant’s final game with the Lakers, meaning Huerta lost an average of ten pounds a month
Lakers owner and team president Jeanie Buss saw Huerta’s tweet and congratulated him for his hard work
Bryant has defined the ‘Mamba Mentality’ a number of times over the years, and in August took to Facebook in an attempt to define it while announcing a shoe collaboration with Nike.
‘Mamba Mentality’ is a constant quest to find answers,’ he said. ‘It’s that infinite curiosity to want to be better, to figure things out. ‘Mamba Mentality’ is you’re going, you’re competing.
‘You’re not worried about the end result. You’re not worried about what people may say, you’re not worried about disappointing others. You’re not worried about any of that. You’re just focused on being in the moment. That’s what ‘Mamba Mentality’ truly is.’
Bryant was hailed as the ‘greatest’ Los Angeles Laker of all Monday by fellow legend Magic Johnson in a ceremony to retire Bryant’s jersey numbers.
The tribute came at half-time of the Lakers’ Staples Center matchup against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, with Bryant’s Numbers 8 and 24 joining other inspirational Laker icons from the team’s 70-year history.
‘We’re here to celebrate the greatest to ever wear the purple and gold. He made us rub our eyes and wonder what did we just see,’ said Johnson, now Lakers president of basketball operations. ‘There will never, ever be another Kobe Bryant.’
Former Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant poses with his family during an NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors in Los Angeles on Monday as his jersey numbers are retired
Bryant played 10 seasons in each retired number, winning three titles in the single-digit uniform top and two in the higher number jersey.
‘Thank you so much for tonight,’ Bryant told the crowd, which chanted his name while giving him a standing ovation.
‘It’s not about my jerseys that are hanging up there for me. It’s about the jerseys that were hanging up there before.’
Many of the team’s past legends were on hand to welcome Bryant, who retired after the 2015-16 campaign as an 18-time All-Star, a 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player and two-time NBA Finals MVP, two-time NBA scoring champion and two-time Olympic champion.
Bryant, 39, said fans inspired him to put in the work every day that became his trademark over two decades with the Lakers, an unprecedented feat.
‘Those times are the dream,’ Bryant said. ‘It’s not the destination. It’s the journey. If you accomplish that, your dreams won’t come true — something greater will.’
With a nod to his ‘Black Mamba’ nickname, Bryant closed his remarks with, ‘Mamba out’.