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‘Giannis Antetokounmpo Showed Up 1.5 Hours Early To Practice’: When Kobe Bryant Worked Out With The 2021 NBA Finals MVP Predicting his potential NBA GOAT Status

Ashish Priyadarshi
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Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo followed through on the ‘Mamba Challenge’ Kobe Bryant set out for him, something potentially stemming from his practices with the Lakers legend.

During the later parts of his career, Kobe made a reputation for being a mentor for several young stars in the NBA including players like Giannis and Devin Booker.

Bryant had set out a challenge for Giannis in 2019 after he won MVP, saying that there was only one final thing left for ‘The Greek Freak’ to accomplish.

Kobe and Giannis used to work out together as well, and according to the Lakers legend, this was something he could have seen coming stemming from Giannis’ workout habits.

Also Read: “Giannis Antetokounmpo could be on LeBron James’ billionaire trajectory”: How The 2021 NBA Finals MVP Can Cash In Like Like Lakers Star With Endorsements

Giannis Antetokounmpo Had A Warrior Like Mentality According To Kobe Bryant

The ‘Mamba Mentality’ is something all NBA players aspire to have. Kobe’s work ethic was off the charts. If you could define hardworking with just a picture, that picture would be Kobe Bryant.

He set the standard for what it meant to practice and train, and his efforts showed on the court as he became one of the greatest NBA players of all time.

It seems like Giannis Antetokounmpo embraced this mentality during his time training with the ‘Black Mamba.’

According to Kobe Bryant:

“Giannis came to work out with me this summer and he showed up one-and-a-half hours early. We talked for 20 minutes before we worked out and he whips out a notepad. What the … he starts taking down notes. ‘What about the footwork here? What about the coverage here?’ And he’s writing them down.”

It seems like Kobe also predicted Giannis’ superstar ascent as he would also add on:

“He just has the mentality of he’s just getting better all the time. He’s just scratching the surface.”

Scratching the surface is exactly correct. Giannis is only 26 years old, but he’s already built up a resume that NBA veterans dream of having. MVPs, DPOYs, Finals MVP, and more are all part of Giannis’ stellar career already, and now, he can only keep getting better.

Also Read: “An injury could seep in and f*** s*** up”: When Kevin Durant foreshadowed his own Achilles tear with Warriors in 2019 playoffs on the No Chill Podcast with Gilbert Arenas

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi

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Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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