Kobe Bryant was always an incredibly talented athlete, even before coming to the NBA. It’s true that Bryant was blessed with immense talent; he wouldn’t be considered a legend of the game if it wasn’t for his sensational work ethic.
Throughout his entire career in the NBA, Kobe had a chip on his shoulder to surpass his competition and be better than everyone around him. For the most part, he achieved that goal.
When fans look back at Kobe’s time in the league, they praise him for his athletic dunks and amazing ability to shoot the ball as well. But what fans tend to overlook sometimes is how good of a defender Kobe was during his career as well.
While he never won the Defensive Player of the Year award, he had 12 All-NBA Defensive team selections in his career. It should be more than enough to prove Bryant’s talent on the defensive end of the floor.
Have you ever wondered how did Kobe achieve these feats? What was his secret to defending his opponents so well? In the clip, Bryant explained this in as simple words as possible.
“I play to my opponent’s weaknesses, obviously. So I probably sit inside here and get this hand inside here. You know it’s a little trick for the weekend Warriors over there. Once this guy makes his move with his right hand, what you try to do is pin this arm. See this? See this arm right here is a strong hand, you pin this. ‘Cause you know he’s inevitably gonna come back to his strong hand, right? So now when he makes that move, now he can’t come back. … And that ball pops out, that ball pops out.”
The way that Kobe explained this ‘trick’ makes it obvious that he has used it several times on his opponents.
Oftentimes, Bryant had seen success by using this move and hence the 12x All-NBA Defensive team selections. Kobe was a student of the game, and he has proved that a lot of times.
