Kobe Bryant’s very first playoff run in the NBA in 1997 ended in disastrous fashion, as he shot four airballs (three in overtime) against the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals. As a dejected Bryant walked off the court, Shaquille O’Neal was seen talking to him and the big man revealed what he told his teammate back then.
“Utah was killing us in the playoffs,” O’Neal said. “His last three shots were airballs. He had his head down, and I remember putting my arm around him and saying, ‘You know what? Don’t worry about it, young fella. One day people are going to fear you taking the last shot. He just became to be one of the greatest players.”
Well, a day certainly did come when teams started to fear whenever Bryant had the ball at the end of the game. Kobe ended up hitting eight game-winning buzzer-beaters in his incredible career, with only Michael Jordan (nine) having more of them in the history of the NBA. He was just so incredibly clutch.
Getting back to that game against the Jazz, it’s important to remember the circumstances. O’Neal had fouled out with just under two minutes remaining in regulation and Robert Horry had been ejected. Byron Scott, meanwhile, was out with an injury, which meant a rookie who had entered the league straight from high school had to step up.
I can’t think of too many who wouldn’t have failed in that situation the way that Bryant did. His first airball came when he had a chance to win the game in regulation, but it speaks to his mentality that it didn’t deter him from taking the big shots in overtime.
Unfortunately for Kobe and the Los Angeles Lakers, three more airballs followed in the extra period. The last two were to tie the game in the final minute and LA would eventually lose 98-93, to get eliminated in five games.
Kobe Bryant Revealed That He Changed His Training Regimen After The Game
We have seen so many players never really recover after brutal games like that one, but Bryant was cut from a different cloth. He wanted to figure out why he failed, and Kobe revealed that he changed his training regimen after shooting those four airballs against the Jazz.
“So I started looking at, well, why were those shots short? Started breaking things down, I started looking at what I was doing in my physical training aspect, what was I doing? I’m coming from a season where I played 35 games max and I’m going to a season where I’m playing 110-115 games. What am I doing? All the shots felt good, they felt on line, just didn’t reach the basket and that’s when I said okay I’m gonna start changing my training regimen and do a lot of weight training throughout the course of the year to get stronger as the year progresses. So that’s how I was able to kind of think through that process and use it as an opportunity to grow as a player.”
Well, that weight training certainly helped Bryant. He ended up going down as one of the most clutch players in NBA history and the sight of him rising up for a game-winner was one that filled opposing teams and fans with dread.
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