Southern JamFest: Kobe Kill List Propels Judah Mintz

Mintz has become a priority for Florida, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, LSU and many others.
Southern JamFest: Kobe Kill List Propels Judah Mintz
Southern JamFest: Kobe Kill List Propels Judah Mintz /

HAMPTON, Va. – Two years ago, Judah Mintz came across a video of an old Kobe Bryant interview where Bryant discussed his infamous kill list.

Before Bryant was considered one of the greatest players in NBA history, he was a tall, skinny teen looking to make a name, so he made a list of each player ranked ahead of him and vowed to dominate them when he matched up against them.

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The same year Mintz watched the clip, the top 25 players in his 2022 class came out and, like Bryant, Mintz compiled a list and put it on the vision board in his room.

“It was motivation for me,” Mintz said. “I want to be the best and these guys are considered the best, so these are the guys I have to go out and get.”

The Mamba Mentality has paid off for Mintz, who has been prioritized by schools like Florida, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, LSU, Georgia, Georgetown, Penn State, Northwestern, Creighton and others.

He’s certainly looked the part this weekend in consistently strong showings for Team Durant (Md.) at the Southern JamFest.

“It’s impossible to ignore that playing against a guy on the list gives me an edge,” Mintz said. “But what happened as I did the list was that I had pretty much the same edge for everyone. It’s a little different for guys on the list, but it’s just made me play more intense across the board.”

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This past season, Mintz averaged 16 points for Gonzaga College (Washington, D.C.) up from nine points a game as a sophomore. He decided to transfer to Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) for his senior season.

“Being there will only help my game grow,” Mintz said of the move. “Just going up against top players every day in practice and playing that schedule is gonna help me get to another level in every way. It’s big for me.”

Especially since it will give him even more opportunity to checkoff names on his kill list, which at current count stands right around 60.

“At the end of the day I just want to get better every day,” Mintz said. “If you’re supposed to be better than me, I want to play you, if you’re not I want to play you. I just feel like that competitive edge is what really takes your game to the next level, so I’m going all in with it.”  


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