When it comes to work ethic, few in NBA history can match Kobe Bryant’s greatness. Whether it was arriving at the gym before sunrise to lift weights or squeezing in extra workouts after games, he was always the hardest-working man in the room. Teammates, coaches, and rivals have all shared countless stories about the Black Mamba’s obsession with perfecting his craft—and now, Samaki Walker has added one of his own.
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For Bryant, it wasn’t just about the physical reps. It was about mastering the mental game as well. He constantly pushed the boundaries of what it meant to prepare, practice, and compete, no matter the circumstances.
Walker got a firsthand look at that mindset during their time together on the Los Angeles Lakers. In a recent appearance on The Coach JB Show with Big Smitty, he recalled one moment in particular that revealed exactly why the late, great Bryant was built differently from everyone else.
One day, Walker showed up to practice early, hoping to get in some extra work, something Bryant would have surely appreciated.
But Bryant was already there—alone. No trainer, no rebounder, not even a ball in motion. What Walker saw left him stunned: Bryant was moving around the court, going through complex footwork sequences, fakes, and pivots. All without taking a single shot.
Walker said, “Then I realized, it hit me…This dude’s imagination. I’m like, he’s connecting the game with his imagination…All the things we see he does with ease, he’s done it in his mind already. He was light years ahead of us.”
He would pivot one way, fake, spin out the other, and fake again, which was a very Kobe-esque way of working out.
The Mamba was visualizing defenders, reacting to imaginary double-teams, and building muscle memory for any possible in-game situation. He always said basketball was much more than just physicality—a sentiment echoed by other greats of the game.
The likes of Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry practiced shots hundreds of times to develop muscle memory for in-game situations. Bryant, as always, took things to another level, often practicing without a ball.
In Walker’s view, this imagination-driven preparation at the highest level made him a truly different beast.
The other key takeaway for Walker after watching Bryant’s practice was that if he tried to take a shot every time, it’d take away from the details of the move. So, with no intention of shooting the ball, Bryant made sure his moves were perfected first.
Years later, Walker watched a documentary featuring some sprinters. In the documentary, the runners were given electrodes and told to just visualize a 100m run. The results showed that while they were not moving, their muscle patterns acted as if they were in a race.
That further cemented Walker’s belief that Bryant was truly light years ahead of everyone.
