During his career, Kobe Bryant was not necessarily the most friendly teammate in the league. The proof, according to a former Laker, the Mamba once refused to speak to him in a very cold manner and for a rather lunar reason.
Kobe Bryant is not only one of the best players in NBA history, he has also become the number one example of work ethic. With his Mamba Mentality, the Lakers legend continually pushed his limits to progress and improve, regardless of his age. And there was no way he could be alone in the quest for excellence and perfection, throughout his career Kobe pushed his teammates.
Of course, some of them have been somewhat traumatized by their training with the back. For example, one summer he decided to push himself to the limit every day with the « blackout » method, which is perfectly named. Those who have held up logically earned his respect, and the others have probably had to work hard to catch up and make themselves look good in the eyes of the captain.
Because to evolve with Kobe Bryant, it was better to have his respect otherwise the situation could quickly become tense … Smush Parker, one of the teammates that the Mamba has most martyred, told an anecdote totally crazy during an appearance on ESPN. According to him, he would have been badly rejected during a training session for an incredibly contemptuous reason from Kobe.
One day at practice, I tried to talk to Kobe Bryant about something completely different than basketball. I wanted to talk to him about the NFL. Kobe looked at me coldly and said, « You can’t talk to me. You need more hugs under your belt if you’re going to talk to me like that. »
Kobe Bryant obviously refused to talk to players who hadn’t accomplished anything in their careers yet… A somewhat elitist attitude, but one that once again proves the player’s winning mentality. He wanted to be surrounded by winners at all costs. And when you see his love for the NFL, he probably would have liked to talk to Smush Parker that day… We’ll never get tired of his reaction after Philadelphia’s Super Bowl win.
