Kobe Bryant was one of the most influential basketball players of his generation. The “Black Mamba” inspired millions to pick up a basketball and was an inimitable force on the basketball court.
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Beyond Bryant’s scoring abilities and defensive acumen, however, it was his work rate and dedication to the sport that drove young and aspiring players to become his fans. Various anecdotes of his work ethic have done their rounds in the media and have elevated the legend surrounding Kobe.
And it would appear such stories take origin even from his high school days. A high school friend of the former Laker superstar claimed that Kobe was playing basketball while his friends partied late and that Bryant would still wake up before them and be playing basketball the day after a party.
To maintain such an intense work ethic from a tender age seems impossible. Especially with the allure of parties and youth surrounding him. And Kobe was quizzed regarding the same in light of the high school friend’s narrative, in an interview. The former MVP’s response is typical of everything that Kobe stood for.
How did Kobe Bryant respond to this story from his high school days?
Bryant’s single-handed passion to become an NBA player, and the best ever to do it is no secret to the NBA community. Naturally, when quizzed about the high school story of how hard Kobe worked, Bryant had a straight answer.
The Laker great said that his aim was to find the right balance in life. Kobe said that he wouldn’t miss parties entirely, however. Bryant found time for enjoyment and parties too and didn’t miss out on that part of his teenage years either.
Kobe attributes having a lot of energy as a teen to his being able to walk the tightrope between basketball and social commitments.
In Kobe’s own words, “Well, I tried to find a balance, right. I tried to do both. You know, I had a great deal of energy. So, if there was a school party going on or something like that, I’d play basketball for a few hours. I do what I have to do and have fun doing it. And then, I’d go to the party and I show up and I’d have a good time, have fun. And I’ll be up at 5:00 in the morning, you know, working or working out and you know, training the next day.”
A workaholic in his own admission, Kobe’s dedication to the sport was evident from such a young age. To realize how hard it is to make it to the NBA and working towards that while not missing out on the experiences of a teenager must have taken some doing.
It isn’t entirely surprising that Kobe adopted such an intense approach to basketball though. After all, Bryant was inspired and motivated by the success of his idol, Michael Jordan, who was also renowned for his hard-nosed, single-minded approach to the sport.
Like how Kobe inspired a generation to work harder, to “Be Like Mike” was the goal for Kobe’s generation. And the inspiration clearly did quite the job on Bryant, who went on to be widely regarded as the closest thing to MJ that the NBA has seen since.
Could Kobe bring his work-life balance into the NBA as well?
Hearing how Kobe managed to maintain a work-life balance in school, we wondered if the same applied to his NBA career. NBA is a huge step up from high school, and Kobe knew it. He played for 20 seasons in the league, earning a ‘modest’ sum of $323 Million.
However, his social life was non-existent. As we learned in the ‘Redeem Team’ documentary, Kobe didn’t really have any friends in the league. While he was busy climbing to the top of the mountain, the Mamba could not afford any distractions. He knew it, and he was willing to pay the price to achieve greatness.
