Kobe Bryant hates losing five-on-five drills. He hates missing shots in routine shooting drills. He hates missing free throws that result in running … And if the team does run, he hates losing the sprints.
If you know Kobe, none of this is new information, yet it’s telling that heading into his 13th season, his practice habits remain as fierce as ever. What’s changed is Kobe’s mental approach, as assistant coach Brian Shaw told me after practice. Like the leadership role Bryant’s taken with “his” team. Much was made last season about Kobe’s switch from berating to encouraging teammates, but he seems to be taken even the next step this year. However, just remember, his encouragement doesn’t always come in the form of compliments; sometimes he’ll use trash talk to push players. I’ll get into that more specifically tomorrow in an interview with Shaw.
As for Monday’s practice - which went for over three hours, mind you - the best line came not from Kobe, but from Phil Jackson, who said “The Sun rises” in his dry manner after Sun Yue drained a three. But Bryant’s barbs came more frequently:
Situation A: Lamar Odom finishes a tough layup off glass after Trevor Ariza hammers him, and Odom tells Ariza about it with Bryant encouraging.
Bryant: “You heard him! You heard him! You heard him! Yeah!”
Situation B: Sun Yue tries to block Kobe’s fadeaway, which swishes through the net.
Bryant: “No no no no no no no no no no no no no SUN!!” while running back up the court.
Situation C: Bryant drives to the rack and drops off a pass to Pau Gasol for a wide-open dunk.
Bryant: “There you go Pau! There you go Pau!”
Gasol: “I appreciate that.”
Situation D: Good natured, general trash talking from Kobe to Sun, all over the court, for the whole game. Sun, who’s quite funny, by the way, had a smile on his face the whole time, and did knock down a few threes when Bryant left him wide open to double someone.
Bryant: “You don’t want that Sun.” or “You can’t see me Sun.” etc. Tough matchup for the kid.
Situation E: Bryant found Jordan Farmar neck-and-neck with him way ahead of the pack at the end of the first killer, so Kobe sprinted ahead of the youngster just past mid court, then weaved in between two bigs - cutting Farmar off - and sprinting to the line.
Bryant: (no words, just two hands held up in the air with fists clenched, like Usain Bolt).
Situation F: The Lakers must miss no more than four free throws out of the 17 players or face running extra sprints. After the fourth miss, Coby Karl and Derek Fisher make theirs, leaving Bryant to take the final shot. Front rim, glass, net.
Bryant: (no words - just hold that release)
To view a jovial after-practice Bryant on video, just head to the front page of Lakers.com.
