AP Photo/Hector Mata
You've heard it before. Probably not in L.A., but you've definitely heard it.
"Yeah Kobe Bryant's good, but that's just something you're born with. If I had that natural talent I would be good too."
Well I'm here to tell you that you wouldn't, and neither would anyone else on the planet. Sure, Kobe has some extraordinary natural ability, but so do 90% of NBA players (no offense Steve Blake).
Kobe, the son of a former NBA player, was blessed with a perfect basketball body. He's 6-7, long, lean, quick, and (when he so chooses) can elevate with the best of them.
But so what? From that description I could be talking about JR Smith, Nicolas Batum, or Joe Alexander. What separates Kobe and makes him one of the greatest to ever play the game?
The phenomenal writer and my personal idol Rick Reilly spent a day in the life of Kobe Bryant and recorded his astonishing findings for us mortals to gawk at. Here are just a few of them:
- Kobe leaves the house at 7:15 a.m. for a game starting at 6:30 p.m.
- Kobe ices his feet and his knees for 20 minutes three times a day.
- Kobe goes through a strenuous workout, which includes "suicide pushups" the morning of game days.
- Kobe shoots and stretches for two hours before retiring to a hotel suite to rest and watch scouting DVD's.
The list reads like something from a Chuck Norris website. And that's just on game days! Can you imagine what this guy goes through on off-days or during the four-month off-season?
But that's what makes him Kobe Bryant. He doesn't just show up and play. His competitive drive and work ethic allow him to get everything he possibly can, and more, out of his natural abilities.
Part of the reason he's been so successful is that he's stayed injury-free. Sure, sometimes you can't prevent injuries, so he's been lucky in that sense. But what he does to prepare his body for the rigors of an NBA season is certainly not luck. You see what's happened to the Boston Celtics without Kevin Garnett. Kobe doesn't want to find out what would happen to the Lakers without him.
So next time you see Kobe swish a game-winning shot in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, just remember that he went through a full day's work before the game even started.
Kind of makes you want to finally put that gym membership to use, huh?
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