Kobe Bryant is popularly known as one of the hardest competitors in the history of the NBA, and nothing reflected that more than the amount he practiced. Oftentimes, it was hard to even understand how he was as motivated as he was to work out so much more than everybody else. On one of the many times he spoke on his ‘Mamba Mentality’, however, he provided fans with the answer. The following is what he said on the matter.
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“I was on the track at like 4:30 am. And in the middle of it, I’m thinking to myself, ‘Man, my legs are really tired, they’re really hurting. And then I thought to myself, ‘What would a quitter do? Would they just stop right now?! Like how does that work? If I just stop right now, what would that feel like? Is that why those f**kers always get 2nd place?”
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While the end may have sounded a tad arrogant, if anyone has the right to say it, it’s Kobe Bryant. After all, he was a five-time NBA champion and worked harder than anyone else in the NBA to do it. Stories of the player waking up at ridiculous times just to work harder than the competition are now infamous amongst fans.
Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant had the same trainer
While it may not have been at the same time, both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant trained with legendary trainer Tim Grover.
Many thought that Grover took a liking to Bryant because of his similarity to Jordan in both game and mentality. However, as he once explained, there was one striking difference between how the two went about their business.
“Kobe worked out harder. Michael worked out smarter. Kobe wanted to know every single detail [about his workouts]… Michael was like, ‘Hey, I hired you, I trust you. I don’t want this to be my focus. Just, if I question you, make sure you have an answer.”
While they did have different ways of going about it, they eventually ended up at the same destination – standing amongst the greatest to ever do it.
