Tyronn Lue Says Kobe Bryant Challenged New Lakers Players 1-On-1 Just To Prove It’s His Team

Tyronn Lue speaks on how competitive Kobe Bryant was in practice.

3 Min Read

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The closest a person has ever come to replicating Michael Jordan’s game is Kobe Bryant. In every aspect, including technique, skill, and mentality. In the mentality aspect, his competitiveness on the court was second to none. 

In a recent interview with NFL legend Shannon Sharpe, Kobe Bryant’s former teammate Tyronn Lue spoke about how competitive he was in practice, even against his own teammates. 

He went so far as to say Bryant would challenge his own teammates, just to satisfy his own competitive ego that the Lakers were his team and he was the big dawg. 

“What you saw in the game every single day, every single day. He wanted to be the best player every single day in practice, in the game, and that’s just how he competed, you know.”

“And so, every time we got a new player like, you know, Glen Rice. And Glen Rice was a bad dude. Kobe wanted to play one-on-one to show him, ‘This is my team’. We got J.R. Rider, same thing. Like J.R. Rider got there, he wanted to play him one-on-one. Show him, ‘this is my team.”

“And so, um, that’s just who he was. Like competed every single possession, every sprint, every drill. Like he wanted to be the best. And that’s no bullsh** Like it’s every single day, he was the same person. What you see in the game, you saw in practice every single day.”

Lue and Bryant were teammates for three seasons from 1998 to 2001. Kobe Bryant’s numerous teammates and players who faced him have recalled how lethal he was in practice and on the court. 

He was clearly not just competitive but a bit possessive about the Lakers. He went so far as to fight one of his closest friends in Shaquille O’Neal, just to stake a claim over the team. 

Bryant did not care if you were new to the league or a veteran with multiple years of experience; if you were a part of the Lakers, you needed to fall in line. While some might see this and compare it to an authoritarian leader, it was Bryant’s killer mentality that made him an icon, one that the younger generation looks up to, even today. 

Kobe Bryant played 20 seasons in the NBA, all of them for the Lakers. He averaged 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists and won five NBA championships. And yet for all that he achieved, he will more likely be remembered for the type of person he was than what he did on the court alone.  

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Chaitanya Dadhwal is an NBA Analyst and Columnist at Fadeaway World from New Delhi, India. He fell in love with basketball in 2018 after seeing James Harden in his prime. He joined the sports journalism world in 2021, one year before finishing his law school in 2022. He attended Jindal Global Law School in Sonipat, India, where his favorite subject was also Sports Law.He transitioned from law to journalism after realizing his true passion for sports and basketball in particular. Even though his journalism is driven by his desire to understand both sides of an argument and give a neutral perspective, he openly admits he is biased towards the Houston Rockets and Arsenal. But that intersection of in-depth analysis and passion helps him simplify the fine print and complex language for his readers.His goal in life is to open his own sports management agency one day and represent athletes. He wants to ensure he can help bridge the gap in equal opportunity for athletes across various sports and different genders playing the same sport.
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