“I shot all day, all day”: When Kobe Bryant adopted the ‘Michael Jordan mentality’ after letting his team down

Kobe Bryant was one of the hardest workers in NBA history, and if you ever needed a story about his dedication to the game, this is the one.

The Lakers legend made basketball his life. He committed his body to the game so much that when he retired, it wasn’t because he didn’t want to play anymore, but simply because his body couldn’t.

In his autobiographical short film, ‘Dear Basketball’, Kobe explained this thought precisely. The beautiful way he articulated his thoughts won the film the Oscar for ‘Best Animated Short Film.’

Bryant’s legacy was built entirely in Los Angeles. Although there were many downs, the ups outweighed the downs, and in the end, he finished his career right where he started, with the Lakers. That kind of loyalty is unheard of now.

These Kobe Bryant stories are timeless man RIP 🙏🕊 pic.twitter.com/5O9WRghwVP

— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) October 7, 2022

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Kobe Bryant took his ‘airball game’ personally as Michael Jordan used to

Bryant drew inspiration from the greats, and if there’s one great he valued a lot, it was Michael Jordan. Kobe’s game resembled Jordan’s very closely, and he even started to adopt his mentality.

As a rookie, Bryant wasn’t highly successful, and the worst of it came during the playoff run the Lakers had in Kobe’s rookie season.

They were playing the Utah Jazz, and the Lakers didn’t come close to beating the Jazz. LA lost in five games. Kobe in particular had a series to forget.

He airballed all four shots he took in one game, and that’s when he knew that things had to change. He took the Michael Jordan route and locked himself in a gym.

He shot all day, practicing and practicing to burn the memory of disappointing his team out of his mind. That’s who Kobe was. He made work ethic his defining effort. Nobody outworked the Black Mamba, and this story shows just that.

Kobe Bryant’s dedication to work ethic led to his feud with Shaq

Kobe was so committed to the game that he wouldn’t stand for his teammates letting him down either. Once Kobe started to establish himself as a premier player in the league, the narrative started to change.

Shaq was more casual about practicing, and Kobe didn’t like it. The tensions escalated between them, and Kobe’s trial was also a major breaking point, but all in all, the contrasting mindsets are what led to a lot of their troubles.

Also Read: Shaquille O’Neal, Who Gifted PS5s to Children Last Christmas, Once Made It Snow in LA on Kids’ Demands

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

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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