“Never Look at the Person Guarding Me!”: Kobe Bryant Had Future Warriors Champion in Awe with His ‘30 Court’ Preparation on Lakers Team Plane

Kobe Bryant left a legacy that will forever remain the tale of a legend. He was a fierce competitor and an inspiration for people trying to push their limits to succeed. 2017 NBA Champion Matt Barnes is someone who saw the fearless Mamba on the court and experienced his wisdom outside the hardwood as a teammate. During a recent edition of his podcast, All the Smoke, Barnes narrated a story of Kobe’s greatness and his pursuit of excellence to Stephen Jackson and Iman Shumpert. The former Warriors star shared the story of Bryant doing a “30 court” preparation during a flight to Spain.

Barnes played with the Los Angles Lakers for two seasons, from 2010 to 2012. He joined the team when they were just coming off the Championship win in 2010. It was the same year that the infamous ‘ball pass fake’ incident happened when Barnes faked a ball pass at Kobe’s face and the Mamba didn’t even flinch. It was the first time the veteran forward experienced the competitive and fearless side of the five-time NBA champion. During his stint with the Lakers, Barnes got to see more of the competitive nature of the Lakers legend.

Matt Barnes describes how Kobe Bryant played chess on the court

Describing how Kobe worked on his game every day, Barnes brought up an incident from his playing days in Los Angeles. While the team was on the plane to Spain, Barnes saw Kobe awake, with the lights on, sitting in his seat, while everyone else was sleeping. Initially, he thought that Kobe might be rapping. As he went close to the 2008 MVP, Barnes saw almost 30-40 little courts drawn in front of Kobe. The Mamba was sketching potential moves as strategy for the offense. This is what Barnes said;

“This dude[Kobe] has like 30 or 40 little courts drawn up. He was doing just that, he was like I am gonna see where you guys are at when the defense is guarding me, because I never look at the first person [guarding me]. I am looking at the second, the third, and the help side defender…’I  never look at the person guarding me’“

 

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Shumpert pointed out that Kobe didn’t care about the first person guarding him, because in his mind he had already beaten him. Rather, he paid attention to how the next moves can open up the opponent’s defense.

This is just another testament to the level of preparation that Bryant put in on a nightly basis. He was hungry for not only success but to remain on the top. 

Kobe Bryant cured his volleyball-sized hurt ankle and came back to beat the Pacers in the 2000 NBA Finals

When the Lakers were playing against the Indiana Pacers in the 2000 NBA Finals, Jalen Rose ended up injuring Bryant’s ankles, leading to a swollen ankle the size of a volleyball. The injury was so significant that Shaquille O’Neal, his teammate, thought the Mamba was going to miss the entire series. 

 

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However, the five-time NBA champion started to work on his recovery. He missed Game 3 but came back for Game 4 of the Finals. Shaq was fouled out in the game, when Kobe came to him and said, “I got you big fella, don’t worry about it.” Bryant scored 28 points in the game, leading the Lakers to a close win.