Kobe Bryant was obsessed with practicing and worked out thrice a day to get a leg up on his peers. The guard worked meticulously on his passing, shooting, and defense to ensure he was prepared for any situation during a game. However, he was also pretty efficient. The five-time NBA champion did not waste time trying things he knew would never be useful on the court. He also had no qualms about mocking coaches who tried to sell him unorthodox training methods, as Phil Handy learned firsthand.
During an appearance on Podcast P, the legendary player development coach, who spent seven years with the Lakers over two separate stints, reminisced about how he had tried to get Bryant to dribble two basketballs at once, to help improve his ball handling. However, the guard refused and asked Handy a question he did not have an answer for. He recalled,
“We were doing some ball handling, and I wanted him to do 2 ball handling. And he was like, ‘Man get out of here. I’m not doing that.’ He was like, ‘I don’t dribble with two balls in the game, what is this for?’ And he challenged me, ‘I’m not doing that.’ He was adamant. ‘We don’t play the game with two balls, I’m not dribbling with 2 basketballs.’”
Bryant shooting down Handy may suggest a lack of desire in wanting to learn a new skill or improve an existing one. However, that wasn’t the case. On the contrary, he had no issues trying to develop a niche ability. Handy explained,
“Like just imagine, you go to workout, and you go to the left block, and you’re just there for 45 minutes, and you’re just repping out a turnaround jump-shot for 45 minutes, and in a full sweat. I never trained like that.”
Bryant did not use the turnaround jumper much in his early years in the league. However, it became a staple of his offensive arsenal in the second half of his career.
He practiced it so often that he developed a muscle memory. Bryant continued to add new skills to his repertoire as the years progressed due to his otherworldly commitment to training.
Kobe Bryant’s maniacal training regime
The Lakers icon was obsessive about wanting to be a superstar right from the time he entered the league. To ensure he developed quicker than his peers and caught up to the top players in the league, he devised a training routine that may seem simple but was arduous to follow. He once explained,
“Imagine you wake up at 3 [am], train at 4, 4-6. Come home, breakfast, relax. Now you’re back at it again, 9-11. Relax, and now you’re back at it again, 2-4, and now you’re back at it again, 7-9. Look how much more training I have done, by simply starting at 4 am. So now you do that, as the years go on, the separation you have with your competitors and your peers just grows larger.”
As tenacious as Bryant was, he wasn’t delusional. He knew his body would suffer wear and tear as the years progressed. He decreased his training load with each passing year to extend his career as much as possible. His work ethic helped him clock 20 seasons before calling it a day on his incredible career in 2016 as one of the greatest players in history.
2024-12-17 15:18:38
