“I meant 5:45AM, not 5:45PM fool!”: When Kobe Bryant went off at Lakers coach, Phil Handy, for not showing up to practice early morning

Kobe Bryant once got into a heated argument with Phil Handy because the latter misunderstood the timings of their practice session. 

Given how competitive Kobe Bryant was, there’s no surprise that he was up late nights and early mornings, drenched in sweat at the gym. His famous shooting routine at workouts had him draining a minimum of 500 shots, with that number easily going up to a 1000 depending on how much Kobe wanted to push himself. 

It’s safe to say that any coach that was looking to help Kobe Bryant practice was in for one helluva ride as the Lakers legend’s work ethic had him in the gym at odd hours of the day.

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Luckily for him, Phil Handy was a coach that was more than alright with these timings, as long as he understood exactly what Kobe was saying to him. 

Handy has been lauded for his developmental skills while also being someone who can help keep championship teams in great condition. He has been on the sidelines for three title teams in the past 7 years with those being the Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Phil Handy on missing a practice with Kobe Bryant. 

Phil Handy experienced firsthand what it was like helping train Kobe Bryant. Following a session that ended in the afternoon, Kobe hit up Handy to set up another session.

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“Kobe texted and said, ‘Meet me at the gym at 5:45.’ So that night I showed up at the gym at 5:45 and I sat there for an hour waiting for this dude and I’m like, ‘Is this dude not gonna show up?’ So the next morning, we practice at 10 and I show up at 7:30, 8.” 

“He’s there and the first thing he does is come at my neck like, ‘Yo mofo, you ain’t gonna show up for work?!’ And I’m like I was here last night. He said 5:45. He looked at me and was like, ‘I meant 5:45 this morning fool!’”

 

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