To say that Kobe Bryant gave tough love to his teammates would be an understatement. The Los Angeles Lakers SG put his running mates through hell to elevate their games. Caron Butler, who played just one season with the Mamba, learned about Bryant’s strenuous ways during his introductory press conference itself. Butler sat down with Thanasis Antetokounmpo to discuss what it was like being Bryant’s teammate. The Lakers had inked Kobe Bryant to a seven-year, $136.4 million contract before Butler’s lone season with the squad.
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Normally, you’d expect someone to go into party mode to celebrate their contract with their teammates. But no, not Kobe. Butler revealed that immediately after signing the contract, Mamba called his teammates, prompting them to prepare for grinding workouts.
Butler remembered that from there on, Bryant’s training routines led them to a state of ‘blackout’. Recalling how Bryant ‘welcomed’ the newly signed Lakers athletes during his contract-signing press conference, Caron Butler expressed,
“During the press conference, Kobe signs for $135 million and we’re on the left side, I’m on his left. Lamar [Odom] is like right here in the middle and then Brian Grant is to the right. He signed the paper, he was like, ‘Hey, you ready to fu**ing black out’. That was the first thing, it wasn’t like, ‘I just got this 135, 36, woo, I’m good,’ It was like, ‘You ready to really work now?’ I was like, ‘what the fu** is a blackout?’’”
“I get there next day we like in the gym, two a days, just blacking out from a workout standpoint, like blacking out to the point where you can’t even function,” Butler added
Butler explained that Bryant made them the first workout session was a mind-boggling three and a half hours. It was then followed by a weight-lifting session, which means no big break after a ton of conditioning drills. But that’s not at all! Bryant directed them for one more workout in the evening, which naturally drained all their energy.
Butler acknowledged the hardships one had to endure during these workouts, but at the same time, these sessions also made him a much better player. He became tough as nails after these workouts, enjoying immense success with the Washington Wizards in the subsequent seasons. Bryant just wanted to get the best out of his teammates.
Why Kobe gave his teammates more than they could handle
Phil Handy, the Lakers’ developmental coach from 2010 to 2013 once asked Bryant why he was so mean to his teammates. Bryant conveyed that since he works harder than everyone else, he expects his teammates to do the same. Thus, he feels insulted when they can’t match his work ethic. Handy revealed Bryant’s exact words,
“Some of my teammates don’t understand the work. I see dudes walking into practice 10 minutes before practice and they leave right after. Why the f–k am I going to pass them the basketball? I don’t respect their work ethic”
This is one of the reasons why Kobe Bryant was considered one of the most toxic teammates of all time. However, he didn’t care about such labels. Winning came before anything else. It is the biggest reason why he was able to lift five NBA championships in his illustrious career.
