Collection of Kobe Bryant Work out stories from NBA peers...

[Pha Q]

Deron Williams:


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Deron Williams and Kobe Bryant are mutual admirers.

"I have a lot of respect for his game. He's one of the hardest workers I've ever seen," Williams said. "He's just a great competitor... just seeing how he works every day, it's inspiring."

Williams said he had always heard about Bryant's relentlessly competitive nature, but seeing it as a USA teammate offered a different perspective.



Caron Butler:

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Caron Butler says he's grateful he spent a year in Los Angeles as Kobe Bryant's teammate and work out partner.

"I say that's the best thing that ever could have happened for me personally for my career," Butler said. "To play alongside a guy like that, see his preparation, see what it takes to get to that level, that's why I was able to be so good in Washington because I took everything I learned from him under his wing."

Butler played in 77 games in 2004-05 with the Lakers. He averaged a then career-high (by a tick) 15.5 points and then career-high 5.8 rebounds. His free throw shooting improved, too.

"Work ethic," Butler said. "He comes to the gym 6:30, 7 in the morning, gets shots every day, a rhythm. Afterward hits the weight room, works out in the summer, studying film, critiquing guys, watching their tendencies, picking things up ... Just studying the game with him taught me a lot."

Butler and Bryant talk every couple of weeks, and when Butler was traded to Dallas, Bryant was quick with a call.

"He told me he was happy for me and happy to see me in a situation to be able to legitimately compete for a title," Butler said.

But Wednesday will be a different conversation.

"You always hear that he's ready to compete," Butler said. "He's happy but at the same time once we get on the court all bets are off with Kobe. He's going to bring it, then hug me afterwards. That's how it is. It's business."


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Q: To Caron Butler - What makes former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant speak so highly of you?

"It's a big brother-little brother type of relationship. How I developed as an NBA player, a lot of credit goes to him, being under his wing out there in Los Angeles. Working out with him every morning, doing all the little things, watching his approach to the game, his mentality, a lot of that rubbed off on me."



Kevin Durant:

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Some of the roots of what made Kevin Durant such an efficient scoring machine can be traced back to the summer of 2008 when he was trying to make the roster for Beijing and the team was given a day off in Las Vegas.

We'll let Durant pick up the story from there.

"We had the day off, but they said we could get some shots up if we wanted, so I decided to head over to the gym with [Oklahoma City teammate] Jeff Green.

"Kobe [Bryant] was the only guy on the bus to the gym, and that spoke volumes to me -- he's the best player in the game, yet he's always willing to come work on his game, so that kind of motivated me and Jeff," Durant said. "He went by himself, he got a lot of shots up, and by the time he was done you could see he had gotten better over that hour. Like I said, it was a big inspiration to me and Jeff."



USA Basketball:

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But these 2008 Olympics have been the most remarkable three weeks of Kobe Bryant

[PurpleChuck]

Mad respect for the guy...

[Done_And_Done]

It always speaks volumes when the hardest worker on your roster is also the number one option on your team. It sets a non verbal precedent that no coach can ever teach...

Enjoyed reading through that...

[OnceInADECADE]

If Kobe didnt have that work ethic he would be in Vince Carter shoes rite now

Thank GOD his Dad was a baller

[ZenMaster]

Not a story, but it's pretty cool. It was posted by hotsizzle in the in the Laker forum in 06.

This workout was the one that supposedly bulked kobe up and added alot of muscle:

Its called the 666 workout. 6 hours a day, 6 days a week, 6 months a year.

Consists of:
2 hours of running
2 hours of basketball
1 hour of Cardio (boxing, jump rope, etc)
1 hour of Weights which are listed below:

Day 1 & Day 4
Bench press
Lat pull-downs
Incline press
Military press
Abdominal crunches

Day 2 & Day 5
Lateral dumbbell raises
Bar dips
Tricep press-downs
Bicep curls
Abdominal crunches

Day 3 & Day 6
Back squats/Front squats
Leg curls
Leg extensions
Calf raises
Abdominal crunches

Also an important thing to know is that Kobe focused on plyometric more than anything, which for those who dont know is a method to develop explosive power.

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9305

[PurpleChuck]

Let's just learn to respect a man's attitude towards his passion. Wade is my favourite player but he's nowhere near Kobe in terms of mentality and attitude.

Props to the mamba.

[creepingdeath]

Yup, his work ethic and competitiveness are really outstanding and the main reasons why he is being compared to MJ that much.

A shame that most of his fans on this board don't do him justice.

Ah, and don't believe that 666 workout sh*t. There's no way that Kobe (or his fitness coach) would ignore one of the most fundamental essentials of training: regeneration. Guess it's as believable as the workout plans of bodybuilding pros in magazines that try to make them seem as hardcore as possible.

And another addition for the thread:

Dirk Nowitzki on Kobe Bryant (during an interview a few weeks ago): If I wanted to start a franchise right away, of course I'd choose Lebron. I mean Kobe Bryant is still clearly the best baller in the game, but he's 32 years, as old as I am.

Those guys have a lot of mutual respect.

[Bladers]

Let's just learn to respect a man's attitude towards his passion. Wade is my favourite player but he's nowhere near Kobe in terms of mentality and attitude.

Props to the mamba.

This is why Kobe doesn't have twitter/facebook. He is focused on the game of basketball..

[R-Pattz]

Pretty cool stuff. It's hard to imagine any NBA players not having excellent work ethics, but I guess some just continue reaching new heights in that regard once they've reached the league, while others are content with their current abilities. I don't like conjecturing about things I'm only aware of from second hand sources though, I'm sure there are plenty of scrubs with similarly insane work ethics.

[PurpleChuck]

This is why Kobe doesn't have twitter/facebook. He is focused on the game of basketball..

Come to think of it, yeah. He's so much diff from LeDiva.

[Bladers]

Pretty cool stuff. It's hard to imagine any NBA players not having excellent work ethics, but I guess some just continue reaching new heights in that regard once they've reached the league, while others are content with their current abilities. I don't like conjecturing about things I'm only aware of from second hand sources though, I'm sure there are plenty of scrubs with similarly insane work ethics.

If they had the same work ethic, then they won't be scrubs...
Everything Kobe has, he learned from MJ and other great basketball players.
His practice brought him to perfection.
Your logic fails, the basic principle is practice = perfect.
If practice still equals scrubs then what is the point of practicing?

[FlashDwyaneWade3]

If I were in the NBA i would smoke a joint like my idol everyday REAL TALKS BRO!!

Fixed.

[Bladers]

Fixed.

real talk bro, repped.

[PurpleChuck]

Fixed.

[arcslnga]

Smush Parker doesn't think Kobe is great.