Over his 20-year career, Kobe Bryant captivated the entire NBA world. Coming in as a raw, unproven teenager, Bryant had to work his way into superstardom and had to work even harder to ensure he kept his place at the top.
Even when he was injured or hurting, Bryant found a way to play and it’s that superior work ethic and determination that helped turn his career into such an enormous success.
Speaking on Bryant and his many experiences with him, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue (who was teammates with the Lakers star at the start of his career) revealed one of his favorite Kobe moments and reflected on the mentality he carried each and every day.
“One story is when he broke his hand and I had micro fracture surgery. I was out for the whole season and he was out for a while. I got better and we would play 1 on 1 full court and my cousin is like why can’t you beat this guy 1 on 1. A year later my cousin says I can see why you couldn’t beat him. He really thought be about hard work and dedication, and what it takes to be a professional. So, learning that a young age, he was 17. He came with his own routine that followed every single day. He was special. So, definitely truly missed.”
Ex-Lakers Ty Lue shared a story about @kobebryant when he was out & needed surgery, and Bryant was out too.
“We would play 1 on 1 full court & my cousin is like why can’t u beat this guy 1 on 1. A yr later my cousin says I can see why you couldn’t beat him.”
1/2#LakeShow pic.twitter.com/c3SnPMtVC5
— Landon Buford (@LandonBuford) January 23, 2023
There are countless Kobe stories, and most of them share a similar theme. As a true student of the game, with an obsession for being the best, Bryant never faltered in his desire to win and it made a strong impression on anyone who was around to see it.
Kobe Bryant’s High School Teacher Shares Her Favorite Kobe Story
In another story detailing Kobe’s unrivaled competitive spirit, his former High School teacher revealed The Mamba’s response after she doubted him in the Finals.
“We were gathering in this little anteroom. And we were sitting quietly in the room, and I just brought this article up, and he said, “Yeah, well, you remember? Remember when you called me during the Finals?” And I said, “Yes, but the article says we ‘talked.’ Conversation implies that one person speaks and the other person responds.” And he [Kobe] laughs, and he says, “Well, I’ll tell you: I saved that message and I played it over and over and over again as I was getting ready for the rest of the games.”
Stories like these have become quite common in the NBA community. Those who knew Kobe, and got to spend any amount of meaningful time with him, got to see how authentic he was themselves.
In the case of Tyronn Lue, he got a little taste of Kobe before the world knew how special he really was. Somehow, even back then, he had the same competitive spirit we saw throughout his Lakers tenure.
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