Shane Battier on why Kobe Bryant was the hardest player he ever had to guard:
“Because there were guys that were faster and stronger and could, you know, fly and more talented than me, but I thought I was smarter than every player I played against except Kobe. Kobe was the one guy was mentally a guy I couldn’t wear down mentally or break. And so I had played Kobe I don’t know 40 times in my career. And he was a month older than me. His mentality was like unlike anybody I played against, right? If Kobe had 20, he wanted 30. If he had 30, he wanted 40. If he had 40, he wanted 50. If he had 50, he wanted 60. It was non-stop. So I just remember just like, you know, sitting in Marina Delray Ritz going to the Staple Centers. I’m just thinking to myself, “Oh sh*t man. I got this guy tonight. I got this monster. The anxiety was real. It was real. Kobe did a really funny thing with me. Like we played this game with each other that only knew we were playing. And one day he’d be super friendly to me. Hey Shane, what’s going on man? How’s the Family? How you doing? Playing great. Next day, man, stone cold assassin. He wouldn’t even look at me. Wouldn’t even look at me. You know, I fall, he’d step over me. Do all that bullsh*t right? Next game, hey man, what’s going on? So he was always trying to like play this psychological warfare.”
(Via @hoopinghollerin)
Man, I just want Pau to go on a podcast and FLAME all these former Kobe teammates.
He’s one of the main guys who can call them all out. Pau was considered a “soft Euro” when he played for the Grizzlies, and everyone said he wasn’t a winner. He came to the Lakers and they went to the Finals his first year. He got bullied by KG and Perkins in the ’08 Finals. The “soft” narrative continued.
That summer, Kobe pushed Pau like he’d never been pushed before: early-morning training, late-night weight-room sessions, endless film sessions. Kobe verbally abused him daily in practice, calling him weak. How did Pau respond? He toughened up and stepped up. One of the greatest Laker playoff runs in ’09, then in ’10. He faced the Celtics again and not only held his own- he was DOMINANT.
Kob was training DAWGS. Some stepped up and became champions. Others, 15 years later, went on a podcast and complained about Kobe’s leadership style✌️
Can you guess the price of this Home For Sale in Lake Nona - Orlando FL?
4 Beds · 5 Full Baths · 1 Half Bath · 3 Car Garage · 4477 Heated SqFt · 6758 Total SqFt
Is this the bast backyard in Lake Nona - Orlando Florida?
$3,500,000
5 Beds · 6 Full Baths · 3 Car Garage · 5718 Heated SqFt · 7594 Total SqFt · 0.71 Acre Lot
Brian Shaw Discusses Kobe Bryant Refusing to Enter the 4th Quarter After Scoring 62 Points
Shaw: "I got kinda pissed at him & said 'Not a lot of people have a chance to score 70, you gotta play!"
Bryant: "Nah, we're up 30. We don't need it right now, I'll do it another time."
@NBAMemes Couple games before this Kobe outscored the entire Mavs team by himself in 3 quarters and sat the whole 4th. No one is EVER touching that! Plus Kobe went on these runs all the time. Let's see if Bam ever gets to 40 or 50 ever again.