A lot of NBA fans remember Kobe Bryant the scorer. That’s what made him the superstar that he was, his ability to put the ball in the hoop. But what made him a winner was his defensive ability and commitment to stopping his opponents.
One of the most commonly used offensive moves is the pump fake, even today NBA players use this to try and fool defenders. And Kobe Bryant once explained exactly how to defend against it.
“If you watch a game and you watch a player throw a pump fake,” Kobe Bryant said. You see a player pump fake, if they’re right-handed, their right leg always goes behind. I’ll demonstrate, what the hell.
“So, a player gets the ball, they throw the pump fake, they do this. See how the back leg goes back? Who the hell is gonna shoot the ball from that position? Nobody, right? So why would you fall for that pump fake? Not in a million years.
“So when a person’s going for the pump fake, you’re looking at his foot. And if he’s in that position, you know he’s not going to shoot, he’s going to drive the ball. So you back up… And it’s that attention to detail that we need to put into the stories.”
The level to which Kobe Bryant studied the craft of basketball is unimaginable, his meticulous nature is what made the Mamba one of the greatest players of all time. This defensive knowledge led to 12 NBA All-Defensive Team selections for Bryant and in a larger sense led to 5 championships as well.
Kobe Bryant Improved Defensively By Studying A Photo Of Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan was the man Kobe Bryant idolized and who he wanted to surpass. As such, he would study how MJ did things and improve himself. And once, all it took was looking at a photo of Jordan that led to Bryant improving defensively.
“Michael is standing straight from the waist up. He’s not leaning in either direction and because of that he is balanced and centered. Thankfully, I actually saw this photo back in 1998. After studying it, I corrected my posture and balance. After that, it was a lot harder to operate against me in the post.”
The obsessive personality it takes to be the very best is something most people can’t incorporate. His desire to learn from various greats without having an ego, like the time he asked Gary Payton for advice, is what made Kobe Bryant as great as he was. It’s something a lot of current NBA players can learn from.
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