And there’s one reason why — his insane work ethic.
Even after going down with a devastating Achilles injury at the end of the 2012-2013 season, Kobe kept working, and now he says he’s way ahead of schedule on his recovery. In fact, he says he “shattered” the timetable for recovery from his surgery, and that he should be back for preseason instead of missing games well into the 2013-2014 season.
But that’s just Kobe for you.
We picked out our favorite Kobe stories that illustrate just how hard he works.
They include marathon workouts, playing teammates to 100 after practice, and refusing to eat the junk food he loves the most.
He decided to lose 16 pounds for the Olympics in 2012
Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Kobe has never been out of shape, but he decided to change himself as a precautionary measure. He told the Guardian:
“With summer basketball leading directly into the season — and I’m expecting to play until next June — I have to take some load off my knees. I’ve got to shave some of this weight.”
Source: Guardian
Showed up at 5 a.m. and left practice at 7 p.m. … in high school
YouTube
Source: SI
He’d make high school teammates play one-on-one games to 100
Kobe’s high scool teammates YouTube
Kobe played a bench warmer to 100 multiple times when he was in high school.
In Kobe’s worst game, he still won 100-12.
Source: SI
He used to practice by himself without a ball, says Shaq
AP
Shaq wrote in his book:
“You’d walk in there and he’d be cutting and grunting and motioning like he was dribbling and shooting — except there was no ball. I thought it was weird, but I’m pretty sure it helped him.”
Source: LA Times
He counts all of his made shots in practice, and stops when he gets to 400
YouTube
Source: SI
He goes through super intense workouts on game days
YouTube
From ESPN’s Rick Reilly:
“Among a dozen other drills, Bryant does suicide push-ups. At the top of the pushup, he launches himself off the mat so hard that both his feet come off the ground and his hands slap his pecs. He does three sets of seven of these. This makes me turn away and whimper softly.”
Source: ESPN
He had Nike shave a few millimeters off the bottom of his shoes in 2008 to get ‘a hundredth of a second better reaction time’
Nike
Source: SI
He is on a crazy strict diet right now
YouTube
He has eliminated sugar and pizza and only eats lean meat.
He told ESPN:
“There aren’t really any supplements that I’m taking from that perspective. What I’ve done really is just train really hard and watch my diet. I think that’s the thing that catches guys most. They don’t do self assessing.”
Source: ESPN
He ices his knees for 20 minutes three times per day and does acupuncture so he doesn’t get hurt
@kobebryant
Source: ESPN
He watches film of himself at halftime
YouTube/SlamJunkProductions
According to ESPN’s Jackie McMullen in 2010:
“He often corrals teammates, fires up the laptop, and shows them precisely how they can carve out easier shots for themselves.”
Source: ESPN
He says he taught himself to play Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata on piano by ear
@kobebryant
Source: @KobeBryant
He trains for four hours a day during the season, and more than that in the offseason
YouTube
Source: Men’s Fitness
He keeps players after practice as “guinea pigs”
YouTube
In 2008, Sports Illustrated reported that Kobe will keep random players after practice so that he can try out new moves on them.
Similar to what he did to bench warmers in high school.
Source: SI
This quote from an NBA scout in 2008: ‘Allen Iverson loves to play when the lights come on. Kobe loves doing the s— before the lights come on.”
AP
Source: SI
He figured out how to do Dirk Nowitzki’s unblockable one-footed stepback jumper in 2012
This quote about how he wants to be remembered: ‘To think of me as a person that’s overachieved, that would mean a lot to me. That means I put a lot of work in and squeezed every ounce of juice out of this orange that I could.’
Harry How/Getty Images
Source: Yahoo!
He says he “SHATTERED” the normal timetable for Achilles surgery recovery
Now see the guy he modeled himself after
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
News
NIKKI SAPP, THE EX-WIFE OF ERIK SPOELSTRA, RESPONDED TO FANS WITH A N*D* VIDEO AFTER THE HEAT COACH SIGNED A $120 MILLION CONTRACT: ‘IT’S A CRUDE, STUPID, IGNORANT CONCEPT
MIAMI Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra signed a $150 million extension deal, and his ex-wife responded to fans who have trolled her. Nikki Sapp trolled fans and…
OVERFLOWING WITH LOVE, GRIZZLIES STAR JA MORANT WARMS UP WITH HIS 4-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER KAARI BEFORE THE MATCH – VIDEO VIRAL
Before Wednesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant brought his 4-year-old daughter, Kaari, onto the court with him for warmups. Kaari is seen jumping up…
CHRIS PAUL INJURY UPDATE AS GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS RELEASE WORRYING UPDATE AND STAR POINT GUARD FACING MONTHS OUT
The Warriors will be without veteran Chris Paul indefinitely THE Golden State Warriors announced Chris Paul sustained a fractured left hand. Paul will have to undergo surgery…
THAT’S THE WILL OF A CHAMPION: JA MORANT’S ACTIONS DURING AN INTERVIEW WITH KELCEY WRIGHT JOHNSON LEFT THE AUDIENCE LAUGHING, AND THE VIDEO WENT VIRAL
NBA fans have been quick to praise Ja Morant – for not being distracted by a reporter’s daring outfit. Grizzlies beat reporter Kelcey Wright Johnson, 31, left jaws…
REVEALED: The NBA’s indefinite suspension decision for Draymond Green had the support of General Manager Mike Dunleavy Jr before it was announced
Draymond Green’s indefinite suspension for punching Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic was devised, in part, by Golden State Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. Addressing reporters on Thursday, Dunleavy said Green…
NBA veteran exposes Los Angeles Lakers superstar? Kendall Gil reveals issues surrounding LeBron James…
Kendall Gill and LeBron James (Credits: Getty Images, USA Today Sports) LeBron James, the star forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, has made it big in the league. The…
End of content
No more pages to load
