Kobe Bryant’s spirit and determination are almost unparalleled. No player worked harder in order to get better than Kobe. Bryant was one of the most competitive individuals in NBA history and did everything in his power to be better than his opponents.
Kobe never shied away from hard work. And he would find motivation in any and every way possible to outwork those around him. One former player got the chance to witness this first hand, and couldn’t help but ask Kobe about it.
Former NBA player Jay Williams spoke about his first interaction with Kobe Bryant. He and the Chicago Bulls were going to face the Los Angeles Lakers. The game was set to start at 7 PM.
Knowing the challenge of facing Kobe Bryant and Shaq together, Williams decided to go to the Staples Center 4 hours in advance and try to make 400 shots before he begins getting ready for the game.
To his surprise, Kobe was already there and had worked up quite a sweat after working out. Williams began to work out and did so for 90 minutes before he went and sat down.
But Kobe continued to work out, much to the surprise of Williams. And Kobe was still moving like he was playing a game, despite working out for longer than Williams. When Williams and Kobe faced off, Bryant dropped 40 points on the Bulls.
After the game, Williams felt as though he had to ask Kobe how he did it. Bryant told him that Williams being there was his motivation to work harder. Kobe wanted to show Williams that he wanted to show Williams his hard work didn’t matter and that he was willing to work much harder than him.
“Cause I saw you come in and I wanted you to know that it doesn’t matter how hard you work that I’m willing to work harder than you. You inspire me to do better.”
This mentality was engrained into Kobe as a young child. His father was a professional basketball player, and he got the chance to see exactly what it took to be successful in the world of basketball.
Several players in the NBA have spoken about their experience of going up against Bryant. He would always push himself to work harder than everyone else around him in order to show that he could be better than them.
