Darius Johnson-Odom was a teammate of Kobe Bryant during the 2012-13 season and learned a lot from being around him. During an interview with Sam Okauru, Johnson-Odom revealed the best advice Bryant ever gave him.
“I’m a real high-intensity guy and emotional when it comes to basketball,” Johnson-Odom said. “… Jordan Hill came at me all of a sudden, being physical but it was just basketball. I think I was yelling at him or something. Kobe Bryant said, ‘Hey, look, man, don’t say nothing to people like that. Just hoop. If you let your emotions run over, then you ain’t gonna be nothing during practice or in games.’ He let me know.
“He knew I was working hard, he knew I worked hard but it was the little stuff that he would tell you to help with your mental,” Johnson-Odom continued. “And I think that’s very important… How you incorporate your mentality on the court (and) off the court, I think that makes who you are as a basketball player as well.”
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So much of the game comes down to the mental aspect and Bryant knew that very well. His ability to stay laser-focused and not let his emotions get the better of him, for the most part, was a big reason why he went down as one of the greatest players ever.
Upon seeing a character like Johnson-Odom, Bryant immediately realized that he had to learn to control his emotions on the court and in practice if he was ever going to amount to much in the NBA. Unfortunately, while Kobe gave him some sound advice, his NBA career wasn’t going to last much longer.
Johnson-Odom had been selected with the 55th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks after a solid college career at Marquette. The Mavericks then immediately traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers and he would spend much of his rookie season in the D League.
Johnson-Odom would play fairly well for the Los Angeles D-Fenders, averaging 21.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game. He didn’t do well enough to get a lot of opportunities with the Lakers, though, as he played just four games for them as a rookie. He didn’t score a point in any of them and was waived mid-season.
Following spells overseas and in the G League, Johnson-Odom would get another shot in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2014. The 76ers signed him to a 10-day contract in March but after he went scoreless in three games, he wasn’t offered a second 10-day deal.
With that, Johnson-Odom’s NBA career was over. He played seven games in total and averaged 0.9 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in them. Johnson-Odom has spent much of the following years in Europe and now plays for Orleans Loiret Basket in France.
Kobe Bryant Had Some Interesting Advice For LeBron James
For much of his NBA career, Bryant was quite an aloof character, but toward the end, he changed. He was a lot more willing to help out those who came after him and that included his great rival LeBron James. Bryant once gave some great advice to LeBron on leadership.
“Everything is a game seven. When you approach every game, every practice with that kind of mentality, it bleeds into the rest of the guys. It starts with the top.”
If the leader has that mindset, it eventually does seep through to the rest of the team. They’re all then locked in and ready to go out and dominate, no matter what the circumstances may be. I am sure Bryant’s advice helped LeBron, who is now considered one of the better leaders in the NBA.
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