- Matt Barnes reveals Kobe Bryant’s brilliant strategy to analyze his opponents
- Bryant never looked at the person who guarded him
- Barnes played with Bryant for one season
Kobe Bryant’s had an insane work ethic during his 20-year-long NBA career. The Mamba always had a chip on his shoulder to be better than his opponents throughout his career.
So much so that the Los Angeles Lakers legend used to study his opponents during airplane rides. Former NBA player Matt Barnes shared the story on an episode of ‘All The Smoke’ podcast.
“This dude has like 30 or 40 little courts drawn up,” Barnes said. “He was doing just that, he was like, ‘I am gonna see where you guys are at when the defense is guarding me, because I never look at the first person. I am looking at the second, the third, and the help side defender. I never look at the person guarding me. I’m never worried about that person guarding me.'”
Kobe also told Barnes that he knew the positions of every one of his teammates on the court. Bryant had a phenomenal feel for the game and his preparation showed it. That’s one of the reasons why he was always ahead of his opponents.
Matt Barnes On Kobe Bryant’s Work Ethic
Matt Barnes was on the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2010-11 season. Barnes was convinced by Bryant to join the team.
In just one season, Barnes learned a lot about Bryant. He once revealed how hard Kobe worked during his career. Matt Barnes was convinced that it was comparable to Michael Jordan.
“His work ethic and his goal to be the greatest ever was- I never got the chance to play MJ so to me Kobe was him, but to get a chance to know him and play against him and work out with him and see the time and effort and preparation he puts into it it’s just like, damn I don’t got that kind of dedication, but you’re a bad m*****f***er bro.”
During his career with the Lakers, Bryant helped the team win five NBA Championships. Unfortunately, the 2010-11 season wasn’t one of the seasons where the Mamba won the ring. The Lakers were eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals as they were swept by the Dallas Mavericks.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
