‘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
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.
Giannis becomes the first player to complete the Mamba challenge 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Evcs3FUcV9
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) July 21, 2021
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.
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.
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