Kobe Bryant was a stellar participant, however he was additionally infamous for having excessive requirements. He had formidable calls for for his teammates, and so they made positive to work onerous to earn his respect.
From 1996 to 2016, Kobe Bryant was one of many NBA’s greatest gamers. He spearheaded the Los Angeles Lakers for a very long time and led them to 5 NBA championships.
Bryant was the second-best participant to Shaquille O’Neal throughout a three-peat within the early 2000s. The early success set a excessive customary for Bryant. He was all the time a hard-working participant, however he additionally demanded the identical perspective towards profitable from his teammates.
He’s well-known for his offseason work and the “Mamba Mentality.” So long as somebody labored onerous, he was immediately impressed when a participant tried their greatest to assist. That is what former Lakers heart Kwame Brown spoke about, as he wished to strengthen his relationship with Bryant.
As one of many major function gamers in Bryant’s supporting forged within the mid-2000s, Brown needed to work onerous throughout his Lakers spell. It didn’t result in a championship, however Brown had an honest time with the workforce.
He didn’t dwell as much as the hype of being a #1 total choose, however he discovered many classes throughout his three seasons with the Lakers. Enjoying with Bryant helped with that, as he benefited from the Black Mamba’s playmaking and killer mentality.
Brown struggled to regulate to enjoying with Bryant, because the Black Mamba was all the time intense together with his method.
“I ended up with Kobe, and first, mentally, I used to be like, ‘I don’t wish to be right here.’ However I remembered being injured too and having conversations with Kobe and seeing how he performed by accidents and the way he willed me to play,” Brown stated on The Pivot Podcast.
By onerous work and hustling, Brown turned a fixture within the Lakers’ rotation. Sadly, that didn’t lead to having a standout profession anticipated from a #1 choose. Nevertheless, he was nonetheless respectable whereas enjoying with Bryant.
Since Bryant was the first star for the Lakers, many teammates wished to depend on him to hold them. He had excessive calls for for his teammates, which included working onerous and serving to the remainder of the workforce.
“He’s given us belief, however no matter we lack in expertise, we simply have to provide that rather more effort,” Brown stated to the New York Instances.
“So long as we give him 100% effort, I feel he’s happy.”
Fortunately for Bryant, his onerous work paid off, as he and Phil Jackson created a robust atmosphere. That they had an outstanding coach-player relationship, regardless that Jackson most well-liked Michael Jordan.
Everybody was enjoying to win, which resulted in two extra championships past the three-peat within the early 2000s. Brown was not a part of both title run, however he noticed what made Bryant laser-focused on success.
