Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are two of the best players to showcase their talent in the NBA. One of the biggest similarities between the two is the fact that they both entered the league straight out of high school.
It proves how talented Kobe and LeBron were even at a young age. Speaking of flaunting that talent at a young age, from 1984-2006, ABCD camp was one of the best young basketball camps in the world.
It featured the highest-ranked high school talents and gave them a chance to show their skills. The likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Garnett all participated in it before coming to the league.
In 2001, James entered the camp, and Kobe Bryant was invited as a special guest to motivate the players.
Kobe Bryant Was Ruthless
During his appearance, Kobe was giving a motivational speech to the kids. Bryant was speaking about how at the end of the day, having a family is the most important thing in the world. That’s when someone from the back called Kobe “soft.”
Well, as you’d expect, the Mamba gave a befitting reply to the kid and intimidated the entire ABCD camp.
“That’s not soft come to the court, I’ll wear your a** out.”
After a couple of seconds of silence, the entire room erupted into laughter, and Kobe smiled as well. But you could tell that for those few seconds, he was completely serious.
Years after this camp took place, LeBron James shared his thoughts on attending the camp and trying to absorb as much knowledge from Kobe as possible.
“I went to the ABCD camp, and he came and talked to all the kids that was there. And I was just listening. I was trying to soak everything up I could.”
LeBron is one of the biggest students of the game, and that’s what helps him stand out amongst his peers.
As James mentioned, he was trying to soak everything up that Kobe was throwing at him and the other kids. It’s safe to say that James did a pretty good job of grasping what the Mamba said. Because LeBron is now a successful player and has a very happy family, which makes him happy.
