Nobody worked harder on his game than Kobe Bryant . Because the Black Mamba did not have the physical gifts that the other all-time greats possessed, he had to make up for it with hard work.
That's why we've heard many Kobe stories about working out multiple times a day, to the point where he was called a lunatic for spending more hours practicing than taking a rest. But according to former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott , while many looked at Kobe's work ethic as maniacal, it was, in fact, actually scientific.
"If I work out three times a day and these other guys who are so-called great players work out just for practice, they just work out that one time a day, over a five-year period, they can't catch me," Scott recalled what the late Lakers superstar told him.
B-Scott didn't look at it the way Kobe did
Scott revealed that the typical Kobe day would begin at 4 AM. Bryant would lift weights for two hours and go home to eat breakfast. Then Kobe would return to the gym and take 500 shots, which meant another two hours in the gym. That's already four hours of work, but to him, it was just getting ready for practice.
Team practice meant another two-and-a-half more hours of sweating it out. After that, the Mamba took his lunch break and then rested for about an hour. At night, he came back to the gym again to work on perfecting his game.
"I never thought about it until he explained it to me," added Scott. "I was a guy who in summertime, to the gym, lift weights, go to the track, I run for two hours. Then I go play and that's equivalent to three times a day but I never put it in the method that he was talking about. And I just thought it's ironic that a young man got it that quickly. He understood that if I worked harder, longer, and more than the guy who's supposed to be on my level, sooner or later, he won't be at my level anymore."
Related: "I am above all that" - Dennis Rodman once explained the difference between him and professional athletes
Kobe didn't know when to stop
Bryant's 'scientific' approach to becoming better than everyone else saw him work harder than even the GOAT himself, Michael Jordan . When Kobe began having knee issues in 2007, he hired MJ's former trainer, Tim Grover, and the fitness guru talked about the difference between Jordan's and Bryant's work ethic .
"Michael knew when enough was enough," Grover said . "Like, 'OK, I got to shut my body down. I need to relax. With Kobe, it was the complete opposite. If he couldn't sleep, Kobe was like, 'My time is being wasted. I need to go to the gym and get some up.'"
Well, MJ was the standard that Kobe wanted to top. So, without Mike's large hands and a 48-inch vertical, he used his work ethic to beat him. His Airness once admitted that Bean was the only player capable of beating him in a one-on-one game because he stole all his moves. Many say Kobe ended up becoming more skilled than Mike. Given his 'scientific' thinking, maybe they were right.
Related: "I always felt Jordan was more efficient.” - Grant Hill compares how to guard Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant
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