As the NBA fraternity continues to honor the late Kobe Bryant, his teachings and life lessons remain of high recall value. One of the greatest to ever pick up a basketball, the Lakers legend inspired an entire generation, regarded as the closest thing to Michael Jordan, someone he considered his idol too.
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A supremely skilled guard, the Black Mamba forever strived to improve his craft as a player. Whether it’s the story of him being the first and last to leave the gym or revamping his shooting style, including making 100,000 shots one summer, exclusive of his attempts, Kobe was a one-of-a-kind.
The two-time Finals MVP had an unmatched competitive zeal and work ethic, starting his rigorous regime day at 4 am. In a 2006 interview with ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith, Kobe revealed how he could do away with less sleep.
“I don’t need too many hours of sleep, man, I can go off, three, four hours, I can operate, man.”
Thus it’s not very hard to believe that Kobe wasn’t very appreciative of the current era’s load management theory, addressing the importance of practice.
“Practices are meant to be competitive”: When Kobe Bryant had questioned teams and coaches resting players.
Not negating the importance of practice and working out, there was only a handful who even came close to matching Kobe’s work ethic. The eighteen-time All-Star played through injuries all his career, exhibiting the Mamba Mentality.
In the clip below, Kobe addresses the importance of practice, unable to understand the load management phenomena gripping the league.
“Practices are meant to be competitive. They are meant to be competitive, if your practices aren’t more competitive than the game themselves, you’re doing the wrong thing. And most of these teams and coaches have got into a mindset of resting players. Phil never gave us a light day, there’s no day off, you show up, and you work and practice.”
“And practices are going to be worse, they are going to be more physical. There’s gonna be more trash-talking. And I’m gonna let you know, if you didn’t show up today, I’m gonna let you know and it’s gonna be embarrassing and you’re gonna hate it but when Game Seven rolls around the NBA Finals, you will be prepared.”
We all remember the run-ins Kobe had with former Lakers teammate Shaquille O’Neal, so much so that Coach Jackson and co would even have to separate the two on many instances.
The polarizing nature of NBA’s load management.
Defined as a procedure carried out to reduce the risk of injury for players, especially during back-to-back games. However, there continue to be extreme opinions on this, with some siding with the players given the grueling 82-game schedule, coupled with being on the road.
On the other hand, the opposing view is fans pay a lump sum to watch their favorite stars only to be disappointed by their absence. Another factor needed to take into account would be the huge salaries players draw to make an appearance.
