Throughout the years, Kobe Bryant was known around the NBA for many things. Besides being the undisputed leader of the Los Angeles Lakers and one of the greatest scorers of all time, his unmatched work ethic made him a legend.
Kobe was determined to outwork every single person in the league. He worked and trained tirelessly and was obsessed by perfecting his craft, even towards the sunset of his incredible career.
That’s one of the reasons why he had beef with multiple teammates. He didn’t believe they worked hard enough so he didn’t trust them. Clearly, that wasn’t the case when he met Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Kobe Bryant Was Impressed By Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Work Ethic:
A couple of years ago, Kobe sat down with The Athletic’s Frank Isola to discuss several issues. During the interview, he told the story of the day he worked out with Giannis, raving about how determined he was to get better and how much of a hard worker he was.
(Transcript via The Athletic)
Isola: “Giannis Antetokounmpo is a leading candidate to win league MVP. What are your impressions of the “Greek Freak” and does his focus and intensity remind you of yourself?”
Kobe: “Giannis came to work out with me this summer and he showed up one-and-a-half hours early. We talked for 20 minutes before we worked out and he whips out a notepad. What the … he starts taking down notes. ‘What about the footwork here? What about the coverage here?’ And he’s writing them down.
After practice same thing; he sits down, and we talked for like an hour. We talked about coverages and defensive match-ups that gave him problems. He just sat there and took notes. And he studied and studied so I’m not surprised at what he’s doing.
He just has the mentality of he’s just getting better all the time. He’s just scratching the surface.”
Needless to say, it takes a lot to impress Kobe. But Giannis has shown to be that kind of tireless worker every since he made it to the league, and it’s definitely paid off. Thus far, he’s a 2-time MVP winner, Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and NBA Champion. Way to make Kobe proud, Giannis.